


Game of Cat and Mouse

by sushihara_shuichi



Category: Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types, New Dangan Ronpa V3: Everyone's New Semester of Killing
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Non-Despair (Dangan Ronpa), Coffee Shop Dates, Eventual Smut, First Kisses, Grocery Shopping Dates, Human K1-B0 (Dangan Ronpa), K1-B0 is spelled like Keebo, M/M, Messy Makeout Sessions, Never Have I Ever, Ouma is spelled like Ouma, Ouma just won't stop flirting, Shuichi is having a hard time catching feelings istg, Teasing, alcohol consumption, an AU where Hope's Peak is an university and not a high school, college partying, coupon books, cuz I'm that 0.01 percent that writes it that way, eventual amamatsu, eventual kiiruma, eventual momoharu, eventual tenmiko, more pairings will pop up eventually, there are honorifics in this fic cuz I'm a weeb
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-05-26
Updated: 2019-04-04
Packaged: 2019-05-14 07:10:23
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 51,548
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14764988
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sushihara_shuichi/pseuds/sushihara_shuichi
Summary: After returning to Japan from England to finish his college education at Hope's Peak University, Shuichi finds himself being pursued by the one and only Kokichi Ouma, who is known for having slept with half the guys on campus and has his sights set on getting Shuichi to sleep with him.





	1. Grape Chapstick

**Author's Note:**

> Hi! I am sushihara_shuichi and this is my very first NDRV3 fanfic. As it is my first fanfic for the fandom, please go easy on me. I've been wanting to write some Saiouma for quite a while now (especially this story idea) and I am only now getting around to it because life hates me.
> 
> I tried my best to write Kokichi well, but I think he's still quite a bit OOC...*sighs deeply*
> 
> Well, happy reading and let me know what you think!
> 
> *UPDATE: Chapter was edited on 8/2/2018*

Shuichi watched the fall scenery from the window of his Uncle's car as his Uncle drove down a road flooded with fall leaves. 

Shuichi had spent his first year of college in England, where he had been given the opportunity to work on a case involving a serial killer who had fled to London from Tokyo and began causing a ruckus there. His friends (Kaede, Kaito, and Maki) had given him their full support and gave him the push he needed to accept the offer.

Now, he was to spend his next few years studying criminology at Hope's Peak University, a prestigious university that was notorious for their world-famous alumni, amazing staff, and various programs dedicated to any field of study one could think of.

He supposed that he was glad to be attending Hope's Peak University. Not only was Hope's Peak a prestigious university, Kaito and the others were also studying there. He wouldn't feel so alone and out of place like he had at Oxford.

He smiled a little at the thought of seeing his friends again. He missed them terribly and wanted nothing more than to see them face-to-face rather than having to FaceTime every week or make various phone calls whilst taking into account the eight hour time difference between them (he remembered trying to call Maki one time and she asked him "Do you want to fucking die?" in a sleepy voice before hanging up on him).

"Shuichi, you've been tapping your fingers against your leg for the longest while. Are you nervous?" his Uncle asked, breaking Shuichi out of his trance.

"Ah...I guess I'm a tad bit nervous..." he admitted, looking away from the window to stare straight ahead.

"It's normal. Transferring from one university to another is pretty nerve-wracking." his Uncle turned left. "I'm sure you'll do fine." he reassured him.

Shuichi nodded, the incessant tapping against his leg slowing to a stop. He watched as they drove into a relatively small town.

"This must be the college town area." Shuichi stated, taking note of the many college students walking down the streets, occasionally poking their heads into clothing stores or laughing about something as they crossed the street.

"Indeed. The town's pretty lively." his Uncle commented.

"As expected of a college town." Shuichi said as they continued to drive through the town.

They drove along a road lined with fraternity and sorority homes before the university came into view.  They went through the gates and Shuichi's Uncle got to work maneuvering through the winding roads to get to the dorm building Shuichi was going to reside in.

He then pulled up in the parking lot of a six story brick building on the east side of campus. Shuichi looked out the window at the T-shaped building.

"This must be Phoenix Hall..." he murmured.

He reached to unbuckle his seat belt and he stepped out of the vehicle, being met with the crisp autumn wind. He closed the door and got to work pulling his bags out from the trunk. His Uncle helped, as well, pulling out two suitcases Shuichi filled with clothing and other items that he needed with him. 

"Do you have the key they sent you, Shuichi?" his Uncle asked.

"Yeah. Let me get it out..." Shuichi murmured as he opened up his backpack and dug through it, pulling out a black lanyard that had a couple of keys and a card inside a small case clipped onto it.

They made their way over to the entrance, where Shuichi scanned his card to test if his card worked yet. He heard the door click, signaling that it opened. They made their way into the lobby and over to the front desk, which was against the wall in front of them. Shuichi made small talk with the woman at the desk as he took his room key from her and filled out some required paperwork.

"Thank you! Please keep this pink sheet with you, as you're going to need it when you go and inspect the room with your CA shortly." she explained.

"Alright. Speaking of, where is the CA?" Shuichi asked.

"Ah, he should be coming down here any minute—" the woman was cut off by the elevator doors opening on the left side of the lobby and a male with short brown hair and hazel eyes stumbled out of the elevator. "Oh! There he is!" she chirped.

"Ah! Sorry I'm late!" Shuichi's eyes were drawn to the ahoge atop his head as the male made his way over to them. "You must be Shuichi Saihara, yes?" he asked.

"I am." Shuichi replied.

"Pleased to meet you, Saihara-kun. I am one of the CAs on your floor, Hajime Hinata." Hajime introduced, extending his hand out to him.

"Likewise." Shuichi shook Hajime's hand. "Oh, and this is my Uncle." he said.

"Pleasure to meet you as well, Mister Saihara." Hajime said as he shook Shuichi's Uncle's hand. "Let me show you where'll you be staying."

He led them over to the elevators, pressing the up button. He then directed his attention to Shuichi.

"So, I heard that you just came back from England?" Hajime asked.

"Yes, just last night." Shuichi replied with the nod of his head.

"What did you do there?" Hajime asked.

"I studied at Oxford for a year. I was there mainly because I was working on a case where a serial killer fled to London from Japan." Shuichi explained.

"Oh, I see." the elevator doors opened and they walked in, Hajime reaching to press the number four. "Now I know why your last name sounded familiar. You're the junior detective genius, aren't you? I really admire your work." he commented.

"Ah...I..." Shuichi reached up to pull the brim the cap of his hat only to remember that he didn't have it on. He chose to settle for tugging on his bangs. "I'm not that great..." he murmured under his breath.

"Shuichi, what did I tell you about putting yourself down like that? You are amazing at what you do." Shuichi's Uncle chided.

The elevator arrived on the fourth floor and the three of them stepped out into the hall.

"Alright, your room is just down this way." Hajime said as they turned right and began their way down the hall.

"So, is it just you managing this floor, Hinata-senpai?" Shuichi asked.

"Ah, you don't need to be so formal with me. Just Hajime is fine." Hajime said with a light-hearted chuckle.

"Oh...I...I see..." Shuichi trailed off.

"But, to answer your question, there is one other CA on this floor with me. He's...pretty eccentric." Hajime explained.

They stopped in front of Room 419.

"So, this is your room. We're going to do a sweep of it real quick to see if there is anything that we need to take note of." Hajime looked at Shuichi. "Do you happen to have the pink form that the woman at the desk gave you?" he asked.

"Ah, yeah..." Shuichi replied as he handed the paper to Hajime.

"Okay. Let's go in." Hajime said.

Shuichi nodded as he stuck his key into the keyhole, turned it, and pushed the door open.

The room was about the size of his Uncle's apartment (and it was a pretty decent size). The walls were painted a simple light grey with dark blue carpeting to match the carpet in the hall. To his immediate right was a small kitchenette along with a dining table that was meant to seat four people. To his left was his closet along with a door that most likely led to a shared bathroom. Tucked in the far left corner of the room was a desk and chair along with a twin sized bed that was about halfway under the window. Directly across from the bed was a large dresser and a TV perched on top of it.

"Not bad, huh?" Hajime said, taking note of how Shuichi stopped to gape at the room.

"Y-Yeah..." he trailed off.

"Okay, how about you go ahead and investigate for any damages? If you find any, just tell me and I'll take note of it on your pink form." Hajime suggested.

"Yeah, that sounds like a good idea." Shuichi said.

"I'll help." his Uncle offered, dropping Shuichi's bags down by his closet.

"Thank you, Uncle." Shuichi said as he began to walk around the room, examining it for any potential damages.

After a few minutes of examining the room, his Uncle ended up finding that one of the closet doors was off the rail and Shuichi noted that there was a small stain on the floor by the dining table. Hajime quickly jotted down some notes, smiling.

"Well, that seems to be it." Hajime handed Shuichi the pink form. "Remember to keep this with you because you are going to need it when it is time to check out in May." Hajime explained.

"Yeah. I'll make sure I put it in a safe spot." Shuichi said.

"Alright! So, that should conclude everything. So, if you ever need anything, I am in Room 431. If you just go down the hall and turn left, you'll see my door at the end of the hall. Nagito, the other CA on this floor, is next door to me in Room 430. You can also go to him if you need anything." Hajime explained.

"Alright. I understand." Shuichi said.

"Sweet. So, just to let you know, we are going to be having our mandatory floor meeting tomorrow evening. As it is mandatory, you are required to be there. We're just going to go over the rules and there will also be free pizza, too." Hajime made his way over to the door. "So, I'll see you then, Shuichi." he said.

"Yeah...see you then, Hajime..." Shuichi trailed off as Hajime slipped out of the room, closing the door behind him.

"So, Shuichi." Shuichi looked over at his Uncle. "Are you going to need help unpacking everything?" his Uncle asked.

"Ah, I think I'll be fine." Shuichi said.

His Uncle smiled, his eyes crinkling at the corners as he spoke.

"Ah, my boy..." he made his way across the room towards him. "You've grown up to be a fine young man. It's crazy how time flies..." he murmured, resting his hands on Shuichi's shoulders. 

He then pulled him into a warm hug, Shuichi's forehead resting against his Uncle's shoulder. Shuichi hugged back, his cheek pressed against the fabric of his Uncle's dark red sweater.

"You're going to do great here." his Uncle whispered encouragingly.

Shuichi could only hug back tighter, words failing him. His Uncle then pulled away from the hug a couple of minutes later.

"Okay, now I've got to get going. The agency is going to be having a meeting soon." his Uncle explained.

"Ah, do you need me to walk you down?" Shuichi asked.

"Oh no, I'm fine. Besides, you have your things to unpack, right?" his Uncle asked.

"Ah...yeah..." Shuichi trailed off, shooting a look over at the bags that he brought with him.

"Well, I'll let you get to work on those. I'll see you this weekend." his Uncle told him.

Shuichi nodded.

"Yeah." he said as his Uncle stepped out of the room and closed the door behind him.

Shuichi let out a sigh as he looked over at his bags. He may as well begin to unpack whatever he had.

After poking his head in real quick to introduce himself to the person he was sharing his bathroom with, who was a criminology major like himself, he set to work unpacking his clothes and putting them in the closet on hangers. As he hung up a pair of black pants, he remembered that he had promised Kaito and Maki that he would message them and let them know that he had finally moved in.

"I should probably do that..." he murmured as he reached for his phone and he went into the group chat he had with Kaito and Maki, quickly typing in a text.

**Shuichi S: Guess who finally moved into their dorm room.**

He moved to rest his phone on the desk as three texts came in, one from Maki and two from Kaito.

**Maki H: Fucking finally.**

**Kaito M: You moved in?! That's great!**

**Kaito M: Good for you, sidekick!**

Shuichi began to arrange various things on his desk such as a pen holder, a couple of folders, and a calendar he was planning on sticking to the wall later with a few Command strips. He resumed packing clothes away as he reached to type out a response.

**Shuichi S: Yeah, thanks.**

Kaito responded moments later.

**Kaito M: You're in Phoenix Hall, right?**

**Shuichi S: Yeah, I am.**

**Kaito M: Lucky...**

**Kaito M: I wanted to stay there so bad, but it costs a lot to stay there.**

**Kaito M: Like, the building's not even that fancy! Why does it cost $8900 for a whole year?!**

**Maki H: That's because it's the only building that will let students stay in a room by themselves, if they prefer that.**

**Maki H: [xx_emoji_annoyed_xx]**

**Kaito M: Ah, yes!**

**Kaito M: I totes knew that!**

**Maki H: ...**

**Shuichi S: ...Kaito, you're not exactly fooling anyone.**

**Kaito M: ...**

**Kaito M: ANYHOW!**

**Kaito M: Let's move onto a different subject, shall we?**

**Shuichi S: I like how you're completely ignoring the fact that you didn't know about something so obvious.**

**Maki H: It's something about him that'll never change.**

**Kaito M: But you like that about me ;)**

**Maki H: Do you want to die?**

A chuckle escaped Shuichi's lips.

"Smooth, Kaito. Smooth." he said with the roll of his eyes as he went back to unpacking his things.

After fifteen minutes of packing things away, he decided to call it quits for right now. He'd be able to pack more later. Right now, he wanted to talk to his friends.

He reached for his phone and he sat down on his bed, rolling onto the plaid navy blue comforter he had thrown onto his bed. He watched as a text from Kaito finally came in.

**Kaito M: Not today, Maki Roll! We still have to go party!**

Shuichi's eyebrow arched at this. 

A party?

He knew that Kaito partied quite a bit back when they were in high school. He frequently hosted parties at his house and would go to parties whenever Shuichi would have to turn down his invitation to hang out (it was usually due to either an overload of homework assignments or he was busy working on a new case his Uncle had assigned him to).

But if there was anything that he knew for a fact, it was that Maki never went to parties. She was busy entertaining other hobbies and studying just like Shuichi. 

So, what in the world possessed her to say yes to going to a party with Kaito?

He texted back, a small frown pulling at his lips.

**Shuichi S: ...Party?**

Kaito responded moments later.

**Kaito M: Oh, yeah! I forgot to tell you!**

**Kaito M: You remember Kaede's friend? You know, the one who used to work at that music store on the other side of town?**

Shuichi began to wrack his brain, trying to see if he knew who Kaito was talking about.

_Kaede's friend who used to work at the music store on the other side of town...who was that again?_ he wondered to himself.

**Shuichi S: Uh, you're gonna have to describe him for me.**

It took Kaito about three minutes to respond.

**Kaito M: Green hair, piercings lining both of his ears, charming smile...**

It then clicked in Shuichi's head. He knew exactly who Kaito was talking about.

**Shuichi S: ...Amami-kun, right?**

**Kaito M: Yeah, him! He's attending Hope's Peak, as well, and he wound up joining a fraternity. They're having a frat party tonight @ 8:00.**

**Kaito M: Kaede invited Maki Roll and I.**

**Shuichi S: Kaede's going to be there, too?**

**Kaito M: She sure is!**

**Maki H: Speaking of Kaede, did you tell her that you're back in Japan yet?**

Shuichi stopped before he could text back, reading over Maki's text again. It then hit him.

"Oh, dammit." he said before typing out another text.

**Shuichi S: Oh shit.**

**Shuichi S: I...actually haven't.**

Maki responded moments later with Kaito following suit.

**Maki H: ...**

**Maki H: ...Goddammit, Shuichi.**

**Kaito M: You didn't tell her yet?!**

**Shuichi S: I was going to!**

**Kaito M: Are you being a coward or something?! She's been your friend since fifth grade!**

**Shuichi S: I know, I know!**

**Shuichi S: I was just so busy that I didn't get around to it...**

**Shuichi S: And I believe you're the bigger coward here.**

**Shuichi S: Have you not told her yet?**

**Maki H: Huh?**

**Kaito M: Don't listen to him, Maki Roll!**

**Kaito M: It's not that important.**

Shuichi could tell that Kaito was fumbling over his words and blushing like a lovestruck schoolgirl based on how long it took for him to respond. It was no secret among their group of friends that Kaito is head over heels for Maki. Everyone except for Maki herself, that is. Maki was sharp and oddly perceptive whenever it came to certain things. Love wasn't one of them.

He sighed, deciding to spare Kaito from teasing him for now.

**Shuichi S: Okay, whatever.**

**Shuichi S: We can bring it up later.**

**Maki H: Can we just get back to talking about the frat party?**

**Kaito M: Okay!**

**Kaito M: But yeah, there's the frat party at 8 and Kaede invited Maki and I to it. She said we could bring other people if we wanted to and I figured that if you managed to check in and get settled in on time, then you could tag along.**

Shuichi swallowed. He had only been to two parties in his life, once while he was in high school and once when he was at Oxford. From those two experiences, he knew that he was simply not cut out for those kinds of parties. Besides, those parties had alcohol and drugs involved. As someone who was aiming to become a detective sometime in the near future, he felt a sort of repulsion to those substances.

**Shuichi S: Kaito, you know how I feel about parties like those.**

**Shuichi S: There's alcohol everywhere and I don't drink.**

**Kaito M: Then you don't have to! Just get water or something.**

Shuichi breathed out an exasperated sigh.

_Of course he's going to try and convince me to go,_ he told himself.

**Shuichi S: I know that there's that option, but still. It's just gonna feel awkward if I show up. You know how I feel about situations like that...**

**Kaito M: I know, Bro.**

**Kaito M: But trust me, it'll be fun.**

**Kaito M: Maki Roll doesn't even like parties and yet she's going.**

**Maki H: Does it look like I have a choice? You'd come drag me out of my room if I refused, anyway.**

**Shuichi S: Like you said, there are just some things that never change XD**

Nobody responded for a good few minutes. Shuichi narrowed his eyes at this.

Did they get busy with something? Or was it something he said?

He reread his text in hopes of picking out something that was wrong with it. Then, Maki responded.

**Maki H: You literally just used XD**

Shuichi blinked his eyes twice.

"Really...?" he murmured as he reread his last text again.

_Ah, I did,_ he thought to himself.

He was never one for emoticons or emojis whenever he texted. His texts were usually formal and to the point. At some point during the year, Kaede, along with some of his friends from Oxford, managed to convince him to start using emoticons and emojis whenever he texted so that people could tell what emotions he was feeling when typing out texts (one of his Oxford friends joked that his texts were very monotone, which pushed Shuichi to begin using emojis and emoticons).

**Shuichi S: ...That's the work of Kaede and some of my friends from Oxford.**

**Kaito M: Bro, please come.**

**Shuichi S: Kaito, I'm really not sure if I actually want to go...**

**Kaito M: Do it for Kaede???**

Shuichi bit his lip.

Of course he had to bring Kaede into this. 

Shuichi hated it when Kaede was disappointed whenever he had to decline her invitations to hang out or not be able to make it to her recitals due to detective work. A little piece of him would die each time she stared at him with that dejected look in her eyes.

He watched as another text from Kaito came in.

**Kaito M: I think she'd be pleasantly surprised to see you.**

As soon as he read that, he recalled that he still hadn't mentioned to her that he was back in Japan. He knew for a fact that she was going to chew him out for that.

**Shuichi S: More like she'd proceed to lecture me because I didn't inform her of my return from London [xx_emoji_annoyed_xx]**

**Kaito M: She ain't gonna lecture you!**

**Kaito M: Just do it.**

**Kaito M: Let's go to the party, have some fun, maybe get a little wasted...**

**Shuichi S: I'm not going there to get wasted.**

**Kaito M: So you're saying you'll go?**

Shuichi looked at Kaito's text for a good minute before looking over at the bags he had yet to unpack. While he wanted to finish unpacking as much as he could before classes started, he also wanted to see Kaito and the others.

After balancing the pros and cons of each option, he decided to just go with it and go to the frat party.

**Shuichi S: I guess I am.**

**Kaito M: Cool! So, we're all meeting up at 7 by the fountain in the courtyard close to Phoenix Hall. Then we'll walk over to the party.**

**Shuichi S: Okay. Sounds fine by me.**

**Maki H: And please dress casual, Shuichi.**

**Maki H: You don't wear dress shirts and nice pants to a casual party.**

Shuichi sighed deeply. He had a feeling that Maki was going to come after him about that at some point. When they had gone to a party during their junior year of high school, Maki was glaring holes into the back of his head the whole while because he had dressed like he were going to an upscale party in the city. She had given him an earful about it when Kaede drove them and an obnoxiously drunk Kaito back to their homes after the party.

He chuckled, shaking his head as he typed out a reply.

**Shuichi S: Alright, alright, I got it.**

**Maki H: Okay, I've gotta go; I need to buy groceries.**

**Kaito M: Same! Let's go together, Maki Roll!**

**Maki H: ...Fine.**

**Maki H: I guess we can go together...**

**Shuichi S: And I'll just continue to unpack my things.**

**Kaito M: Yeah, you go do that, Shuichi!**

**Kaito M: We'll see you later!**

**Shuichi S: Yeah, see you guys later.**

Shuichi sighed, placing his phone on the desk as he rolled onto his side, cheek pressed against the palm of his hand as he stared at the remaining bags that he had to unpack.

"Well, I may as well dig through for something to wear while I continue to unpack...I can also go for a walk around campus to see where things are..." he mumbled as he pushed himself off the bed and he got to work.

* * *

Shuichi stared at the two outfits he had laid across his bed.

The first outfit consisted of one of his old band t-shirts, a pair of black jeans, and black Vans. It was an outfit dedicated to his emo days during middle and high school and it seemed like a good outfit for a frat party.

The second outfit consisted of a grey v-neck shirt, a black cardigan, grey slim-fitting jeans with a slight tear by the knees, and grey Converse. The outfit was fairly casual and would keep him warm from the light autumn breeze outside.

He tapped a finger against his chin as he thought over his choices.

_To be emo or to be comfy...this is proving to be tough._ he thought to himself.

He reached for the first outfit and he watched himself in the floor length mirror he put up next to his desk near the bathroom door. If he paired the outfit with some smoky makeup and the right accessories, then he'd really look like he went back to his emo days. He frowned a little at his reflection in the mirror before putting the outfit down and bringing the second outfit up to his body. As he observed himself in the mirror, his phone vibrated against the desk. He looked at it, seeing that he got a text from Maki.

**Maki H: Where are you???**

Shuichi put the outfit down, reaching to send a reply to her.

**Shuichi S: I'm still in my room; I'm having trouble picking something out 4 tonight.**

Maki replied moments later.

**Maki H: No need to doll yourself up; it's just a frat party.**

**Maki H: Kaito says to hurry up; we're by the fountain and waiting on you and Kaede to show up.**

**Shuichi S: KK, be done soon.**

**Maki H: Gosh, your new texting style is monstrous...**

Shuichi chuckled under his breath at Maki's remark regarding his texting style.

He then glanced over at the outfits, sighing.

_I need to come up a decision and I need to come up with one now._ he told himself.

After contemplating over it again for another two minutes, he decided to go the emo route and throw on the first outfit. He stripped out of his original clothing and he threw on the band shirt and black jeans. The jeans fit quite snug on him, but he supposed that it was fine for tonight. He smoothed out the band logo as he slipped on the Vans and got to work on his makeup. He touched up his mascara and did a little work with some eyeliner before adding a little bit of black eye shadow to make his eyes pop. He added a thin layer of lip gloss and began clipping a black velvet choker around his neck as a text came in. He glanced over at it, reading the text.

**Maki H: Hope you're done cuz Kaede has reached; we're waiting on you.**

Shuichi grabbed for his phone and he quickly typed out a reply.

**Shuichi S: Alright; heading out now!**

Shuichi watched himself in the mirror, quickly fixing his hair (his ahoge refused to stay down no matter how much he tried to keep it down) before sliding his phone into his jeans pocket and grabbing for his wallet. He slipped his wallet into his other pocket before heading out, closing the door behind him.

He hurried down the hall, calling for an elevator. The elevator arrived moments later and he got on, pressing the lobby button. As the elevator went down, he examined his nails, which he had decided to paint black earlier today.

_It looks messy. Kaede is so much better at painting nails than I am..._ he thought to himself.

He watched the light of the elevator make the black nail polish shine as the elevator arrived at the lobby, the doors sliding open. He stepped out, waving hello to the girl at the desk before stepping out into the cool autumn air. A light breeze nipped at his exposed arms as he began to make his way over to the fountain where they were supposed to meet up.

"If I remember correctly, it should be this way..." he murmured as he turned the corner.

His eyes spotted the fountain in the middle of the courtyard before landing on three familiar figures. He watched Kaito look away from Maki before grinning, waving excitedly.

"Yoooooooooo! Shuichi!" he hollered.

He rose his hand to wave back as he heard a loud "What?! Shuichi?!" come from Kaede. He watched the blonde whirl around to look at him before screaming.

"Oh my god! Shuichi!" she exclaimed as she ran across the courtyard towards him.

Shuichi had little time to react as she nearly tackled him onto the grass, arms wrapping tightly around his waist. He managed to catch his balance before he fell, hugging her back.

"Hey, Kaede." he greeted.

Kaede pulled away from the hug, a frown tugging at her lips as she whirled around to glare at Kaito.

"Just what the hell, Kaito?! How could you keep such a huge secret from me?!" she shouted angrily.

"Sorry, sorry! I was going to tell ya, but I figured that I'd surprise you instead." Kaito explained.

Kaede groaned.

"Typical Kaito...and you!" she pressed her index finger against Shuichi's chest. "How could you forget to let me know that you came back to Japan?!" she complained.

"Sorry, sorry. I was busy unpacking my things." Shuichi apologized.

"And texting Maki and Kaito!" she pouted, her arms crossed over her chest. "It's like you forgot I existed..." she mumbled.

Shuichi sighed.

"Look, I...I'm really sorry for not shooting you a text as soon as I could...it slipped past my mind." he said, reaching up to scratch at the back of his head.

"Kaede, no need to chew my sidekick out like that!" Kaito swung his arms over Kaede and Shuichi's shoulders. "At least you got to see him!" he said.

"Gosh, you're so damn optimistic." Maki glanced down at the watch around her wrist. "It's 7:15. We should start making our way over there." she suggested.

"We should. Now, follow me, everyone! The Luminary of the Stars shall guide you to Amami's frat house!" Kaito declared, pumping a fist into the air.

Maki rolled her eyes.

"Calm down, hero." she said, falling into step besides Kaito as they began to make their way to the party.

They made their way down the sidewalk with Kaito and Maki in front and Kaede and Shuichi trailing behind them. Kaito began to talk to Maki about something space-related as Kaede stared at Shuichi. Shuichi glanced over at her, noticing how she was staring at him intently.

"Uh...Kaede, is something the matter...?" he asked.

"First of all, it's like you decided to go back to your emo days. Also," she reached out towards him, "you finally decided to take your hat off after so many years." she commented, tugging lightly on his ahoge.

"Ack!" Shuichi swatted Kaede's hand away. "You know how sensitive that part of my head is!" he whined.

Kaede brought a hand to her lips to stifle her giggles.

"Do you remember when we were young and I used to pull on it all the time because I used to think you had an antennae attached to your head?" she asked, bringing her hands behind her back.

"A little, yeah." he replied.

Kaede smiled, staring up as a breeze blew through, knocking some leaves off of a branch.

"You know, I'm glad you took it off. I got really concerned when you started wearing it after you accidentally solved that murder case a few years ago. Not only did you refuse to make eye contact after the incident, the hat also hid your insanely good looks." she explained.

A light blush dusted Shuichi's cheeks.

"I...I'm not really good looking, you know..." he trailed off.

"Oh, don't be like that! You are such a good looking person, Shuichi. I'm surprised you never ended up dating anybody back in high school." Kaede pointed out.

Shuichi chose not to respond to that as they turned the corner. Almost instantly, he could hear loud booming coming from a house sitting at the corner on the opposite side of the road.

"I assume that's where the party is?" Shuichi guessed.

"Yup!" Kaede chirped.

Kaito looked across the street, spotting the house up ahead.

"Hey, I think I see it!" Kaito glanced over his shoulder to look at Kaede. "Yo, Kaede! Is that the frat house over there?!" he asked.

Maki rolled her eyes at how loud Kaito was as Kaede nodded.

"Yup, that's the place!" she pointed across the street. "Let's cross the street here." she suggested.

"Ah! Good idea!" Kaito declared as the four of them crossed the street and they continued on their way to the fraternity house.

A couple of minutes later, they arrived at the house. It was a simple two story house painted red with cream trimming. A sign was nailed to the door, which said Alpha Ruby. The loud booming of some rap music bounced off the walls inside the house.

Shuichi swallowed, staring up at the house as they made their way up the steps to the front porch.

"It's okay, Shuichi. Just stay with us and you'll be fine." Kaede said reassuringly.

Shuichi nodded his head in response.

"Mmmmm, yeah..." he trailed off as Kaito examined the door.

"Hm..." he pointed at a piece of paper tacked to the door. "It says that we can just walk in and head upstairs." he said.

"Then, let's walk in." Maki said as she reached for the doorknob and she turned it.

They stepped into the house, loud music immediately reaching their ears. As soon as they made their way upstairs onto the second floor, Shuichi felt like he had been transported to another world. The music only got louder, making his stomach flop and his head throb a little from the volume. There were different colored light bulbs screwed in and streamers flung about in every direction. People were everywhere, some singing off-key karaoke music in the sitting area, couples kissing, some couples being dragged downstairs to do God knows what (Shuichi silently came to the conclusion that all the bedrooms were downstairs), and there were more people dancing and drinking to their heart's content. As soon as Shuichi's eyes landed on the Solo cups that many people were holding in their hands, he wanted nothing more than to make his way back outside, march back to Phoenix Hall, and finish unpacking before collapsing on his bed and going to sleep.

Just why in the world did he think that going to a frat party was a good idea?

A hand on his wrist pulled him back into the present.

"Stay close, Shuichi. Maki and Kaito said that we should head towards the kitchen." Kaede suggested.

"Ah...Okay..." Shuichi trailed off as he let himself be pulled across the house by Kaede.

Once they arrived in the living room, Shuichi's eyes widened in shock.

The large living room had been converted into some sort of dance floor, disco and strobe lights flashing everywhere. The music was louder, the boombox in the very far corner blasting an Eminem song. 

They began to maneuver through the crowd, making their way towards the kitchen. He almost got separated from Kaede twice, finding himself in between gyrating couples and he also had some guy begin to grind against him before he had to call out Kaede's name over the music and grab for the sleeve of her mauve sweater so that he didn't lose her again. They broke through the sea of drunk college students and they finally found themselves in the kitchen.

"We have made it to the kitchen!" Kaito hollered excitedly.

"Fucking finally." Maki glared at Kaito. "This is why I fucking hate parties. Too damn crowded, too damn loud, and too many fucking drunks everywhere." she snapped.

Kaito chuckled.

"Chillax, Maki Roll! You need to let loose a little bit!" Kaito declared, clapping a hand on Maki's shoulder.

Maki shrugged him off.

"Call me that one more time and I will kick your ass into next Thursday." she threatened as Kaito let out a small 'aha!', making a dash for a cooler filled with bottles. He pulled out three of them and he made his way back over to them.

"I found the beer!" he handed one to Kaede and another one to Maki. "Here, Maki Roll! Drink up!" he said.

Maki glowered at him.

"You really want to die, don't you..." she grumbled in an annoyed voice. However, she popped the cap off with her thumb and took a sip from her bottle.

"As for you, Shuichi, I'll see where I can find you some water!" Kaito said.

"Ah...yeah, thanks..." Shuichi trailed off as Kaito ran off to go find some water.

Maki sighed deeply.

"Knowing that idiot, you are most likely not going to be getting that water anytime soon." Maki said.

"But, he's your idiot." Kaede pointed out as she took a swig from her bottle. 

"Huh?" Maki shot Kaede an appalled look. "He's not **_MY_ ** idiot, he's **_AN_ ** idiot." she stated as someone emerged from the dance floor.

"I need to get more beer for the beer pong table..." a green haired male mumbled.

"Ah! Amami-kun!" Kaede called out.

"Hm...?" he blinked his eyes twice before smiling. "Yo, Akamatsu-san." he greeted.

Maki narrowed her eyes at him as the green haired male sauntered over to them.

"So, is this Amami-kun?" Maki asked.

"Yes! You guys, this is Rantaro Amami. Amami-kun, these are my friends, Shuichi Saihara and Maki Harukawa. My other friend, Kaito, was here, but he ran off to someplace in the house." she introduced.

"Ah, I see. Well, it's a pleasure to meet you two." Rantaro greeted with the wave of his hand.

"Likewise." Maki responded curtly.

"Nice to meet you too, Amami-kun." Shuichi said.

Rantaro let out a light chuckle.

"No need to be so formal. Loosen up a bit. We're at a party, after all. Oh, and speaking of loosening up a bit..." Rantaro shot a look at Kaede. "I thought you promised me that you would loosen up for a bit?" he asked.

"I know, I know." Kaede laughed. "I shall do as you wish." she said.

"Well, I'm playing some beer pong with a couple of friends. You wanna join us?" Rantaro asked.

"Beer pong? That sounds fun!" Kaede chirped.

"Great. We should go get the beer." he looked at Shuichi and Maki. "I'm going to borrow Kaede for a bit." he said before pulling her along.

"I'll be back soon, you guys!" she shouted over the loud music as they disappeared around a corner.

Maki sighed deeply.

"Well, there she goes..." she commented.

"Yeah..." Shuichi trailed off, playing with the hem of his shirt as Kaito reappeared with a tray in his hands.

"I'm back! I managed to find this tray of water further inside the kitchen." Kaito explained.

"You're back earlier than I thought you'd be." Maki commented.

"Well, I can't just leave my sidekick without anything to drink, you know." Kaito pointed out.

"Thanks, Kaito." Shuichi thanked him as he reached for one of the red Solo cups and he took a sip.

He immediately tasted something sugary sweet. His eyebrows quirked up at this. Was water supposed to taste this sweet?

_Maybe it's flavored water,_ he told himself.

He found himself taking more and more sips, enjoying the taste. He reached for another one and he began drinking more. At this point, Maki had grown concerned over how Kaito was already getting drunk, not looking to see what Shuichi was up to. 

After finishing his second cup, he realized that what he had been drinking all this time was vodka. However, he had grown too drunk to care about the fact that he drank alcohol despite saying that he wouldn't. The vodka just tasted too damn good.

He watched at the dance floor, taking note of how Kaede and Rantaro had stopped playing beer pong and they began dancing together in an intimate fashion as the song changed over to a hip hop/rap style song. As he reached for his third cup and he took a sip, his eyes landed on a dark haired male dancing in the center of the dance floor, beer bottle in hand.

His hair was styled in a way that Shuichi had never seen before, wispy locks sticking out every which way. He donned a white shirt, black denim jeans, and black Vans with checkered laces. A checkered scarf was tied around one of the belt loops and he had multiple black bracelets along his right arm, some bracelets having black stars on them. He whirled his hips to the beat as he brought the mouth of the bottle to his lips, which looked glossy under the disco lights. He took a quick swig from the bottle as he turned, their eyes meeting.

As soon as their eyes met, Shuichi swore he felt his heart skip a beat. The male's lips were pursed and his eyes showed little to no emotion. The blank look that began to cross the male's face should've brushed Shuichi the wrong way, but instead, it made Shuichi curious. He wanted to go up to him and talk to him. He wanted to see what the male was like underneath that mask of his.

The blank stare quickly vanished as a seductive smirk took its place. He took another swig before crooking his fingers in a 'come hither' motion.

Shuichi pointed at himself. He couldn't possibly be calling for him, was he?

The male quirked an eyebrow in a 'who else do you think I mean?' expression before beckoning Shuichi to come closer. Shuichi sighed, glancing over at Maki, who was trying to stop Kaito from stripping out of his shirt. He was sure they wouldn't mind if he slipped away for a little bit.

He rested his cup on the tray and he made his way over to the male. The smirk on the male's lips only grew as Shuichi approached him.

"Wow." the male took another swig from his bottle. "Now that I'm seeing you up close, you're not as good-looking as I thought you were." he commented.

Shuichi was taken aback. Did he hear him right?

"Huh—" before he could say anything, the male burst into laughter.

"Juuuuuuust kidding! That was a lie. Actually," the male hooked a slender finger around one of the belt loops on Shuichi's jeans and he pulled him closer, eliciting a small yelp from Shuichi, "I think you're quite attractive." he commented, their chests pressing together.

Shuichi's cheeks flushed red at the compliment. He glanced down at the male's round eyes, fascinated by the dark hue of them. However, he couldn't quite tell what color they were in this type of lighting. A light chuckle pulled Shuichi from his thoughts.

"Or maybe that's a lie. Or maybe I'm lying about how that was a lie. Who knows~" the male trailed off.

Shuichi's head began to spin. He wondered if it was the alcohol or the cute male's rambling that was making his head spin like this.

The male giggled as he swung an arm over Shuichi's shoulder.

"Dance with me for a bit. Oh, and by the way," he reached his other hand to guide Shuichi's right hand to his lower hip, "your hands go down here." he said.

Shuichi could only muster up a nod as he moved his other hand down to the male's lower hip. The male brought his other arm over Shuichi's shoulder, pulling him even closer. Shuichi swallowed as the two of them rolled their hips to the almost sensual-sounding beat.

"So, Mister Sexy Emo Boy," the male glanced up at Shuichi, "I don't think I've ever seen you in the area before. Are you a transfer student or something?" he asked.

"Ah...Yeah, I am..." Shuichi trailed off.

"What college did you go to before?" the male asked.

"I spent a year in Oxford." Shuichi replied.

The male's eyebrow quirked up as he stared at Shuichi with a curious look on his face.

"Oxford, eh...so, you're a British transfer student, then." he guessed.

"Eh...kind of? I'm actually from Japan, so it's more like I came back home after a year and I am going to complete my education at Hope's Peak." Shuichi explained.

The male hummed to himself as he rolled his hips into Shuichi's. Shuichi choked out a gasp as the male giggled.

"You get flustered easily. Is it the alcohol or is it because I'm sexy?" the male asked teasingly.

"Eh?!" Shuichi blinked twice.

"Are you trying to tell me you don't think I'm sexy, Mister Sexy Emo Boy Who Came Here From Oxford?! How mean!" he whined, tears pooling in his eyes.

"A-Ah! That's not what I meant...!" Shuichi squeaked out, not knowing what to do in this situation.

The tears disappeared as soon as they appeared, the seductive smirk from before returning.

"Maybe I can change your mind." he moved a hand down to grab Shuichi's hand. "Come." he said.

Shuichi said nothing as he let himself be pulled through the crowd and away from all the commotion.

* * *

Shuichi knew for a fact that if he were sober right now, he would stop doing whatever it was that he was doing right now and immediately head back to Phoenix Hall.

But here he was, pinning the male from before against the bathroom door as they engaged in a heated lip lock. 

The kiss was wet and sloppy, their teeth clacking together every once in a while. His hands rested on the male's waist as the male straddled his leg, hands fisted in Shuichi's hair as he tilted his head, deepening the kiss. The male forced Shuichi's mouth open and he slid his tongue in, running his tongue along Shuichi's teeth and the roof of his mouth. A moan escaped from Shuichi as the tip of the male's tongue dragged along his teeth.

The taste of beer and grape Chapstick flooded Shuichi's senses. He couldn't help but want more. His hand slipped under the male's shirt and it began to travel up his chest as his tongue began to swirl around the male's. The male gasped into the kiss as Shuichi ran his fingers over every curve on the male's body. His thumb ran over what might've been a small hoop piercing on the male's left nipple. Another gasp was elicited from the male followed by a shudder and a small groan.

"Ugh...goddammit..." he moaned into Shuichi's mouth as he yanked on Shuichi's hair.

Shuichi gasped as the male changed positions, Shuichi's back now pressed against the bathroom door. He kissed him hard, Shuichi tasting more of the grape Chapstick that the male had on his lips. The male's hips began to roll against Shuichi's thigh, grunts escaping his lips. Shuichi swiped his thumb over the male's pierced nipple again, earning another moan as the male broke away from the kiss, cheeks flushed.

"Wow...you're a pretty damn good kisser..." he panted out.

"That...that was actually...my first kiss..." Shuichi trailed off, trying to catch his breath from the kiss that nearly took his breath away.

"No way. That was your first kiss?" the male asked, gazing at him in shock.

Shuichi ran his tongue along his bottom lip as he stared at the male. Upon further inspection, he realized that the male's hair was actually a plum color with the tips dyed purple and his eyes were a beautiful shade of purple. Shuichi felt like galaxies and stars were reflected in the depths of the male's eyes. It made the male look all the more attractive.

"Uh...yeah..." Shuichi trailed off.

"Wow, that's insane." the male pressed his body against Shuichi's. "Kiss me again." he said.

Shuichi didn't have to be told twice as he dipped his head down and their lips crashed together in another bruising kiss. The male moaned, one hand moving to cup Shuichi's cheek while the other one rested on his shoulder. Shuichi's hand hiked up the male's shirt a little as he lost himself in the kiss, the faint sounds of the party music being drowned out by the smacking of their lips, their heavy breathing, and the occasional grunts and moans.

The male reached down, helping Shuichi yank off his shirt. The male reached for Shuichi's shirt and pulled it over his head, throwing it off to the side along with his shirt. One of Shuichi's hands moved up to the male's hair, pulling lightly on it. The male sucked in a gasp as Shuichi's tongue dove into the male's mouth, tasting the beer that he drank. The male began moving his hands down Shuichi's chest and towards his jeans. As his hands fumbled with the button and zipper, Shuichi's eyes widened.

"W-Wait!" he pulled away from the kiss, trying to catch his breath yet again. "What...What exactly are you doing?" he asked.

"What am I doing?" the male stopped what he was doing, arching a brow in confusion. "I thought we were going to bang?" he questioned.

"What?! I never said that we were going to have sex!" Shuichi exclaimed in shock.

"You could've fooled me, Mister Sexy Emo Who Came Here From Oxford! You were so bold before and now you're gonna chicken out cuz you're not drunk enough to want to fuck me?!" the male asked, a hint of irritation in his voice.

"Look, I..." Shuichi sighed. "I'm sorry if I led you on or anything. I'm just not the kind of person who hooks up with random people. And I'm not fond of the whole 'let's bang while we're drunk because it sounds like a good idea' concept, either. I want to have sex when I am sober and in my right mind." Shuichi explained.

The male watched him with that same blank look again as he listened to Shuichi's rather lengthy explanation. Shuichi blushed, noticing how intense the male's stare was.

"So, we can have sex if you're sober, then?" he asked.

"I...I guess...?" Shuichi swallowed. "I mean...damn, you're really attractive and all, but...I just..." Shuichi began trailing off.

The male sighed.

"Okay, fine. I understand." he said before marching over and scooping their discarded shirts off of the floor. He threw Shuichi's shirt at him, the black fabric hitting Shuichi in the face. Shuichi scrambled to put it on as the male spoke.

"Then, let's go do something else, Mister Emo Boy Who Would Rather Have Sex While Sober." he said.

"Wha—?!" Shuichi rapidly blinked his eyes. "Why in the world do you keep changing that nickname around?! And also, I have a name!" Shuichi complained.

"I'm sure you have a name. It's just that I'm so drunk that I might not even remember your name, so I'm not even going to bother asking what your name is." the male explained with the wave of his hand.

Shuichi was tempted to remark that that kind of logic just didn't add up, but kept quiet as the male opened the bathroom door and they stepped back out into the hall.

"So, Mister Emo Boy Who Would Rather Have Sex While Sober, have you ever engaged in any crazy college shenanigans?" the male asked.

"Um...well...does coming to this frat party count...?" Shuichi asked.

"Nope~!" the male popped the 'p' as they made their way down the hall. "How about we do something crazy, then?" he suggested.

"Like what?" Shuichi asked.

"So, this frat house has a pool in the backyard. And of course, pools are ideal for swimming in the summer. So, what about in the fall when it's about sixty five degrees outside?" the male asked.

Shuichi arched a brow, trying to comprehend what the male was saying (and failing epically because surprise, he's still drunk). He felt a hand tug on his wrist and pull him down the hall. As the pool came into view, he realized what was happening.

"Oh no, you cannot be serious!" Shuichi exclaimed.

"Hell yeah, I am being serious! And that ain't no lie!" the male turned to look at him. "Come on! Even after drinking so much and making out with such an insanely sexy being like myself, you're still quite stiff! Loosen up a bit and go wild! Who knows, maybe you'll grow to enjoy getting up to some crazy college shenanigans." the male pointed out.

Shuichi could only stare as he took in the male's words. He did make a pretty valid point.

"Now, come on! Let's make some noise as we jump into the pool!" the male shouted, slipping his hand into Shuichi's as they took off down the hall.

The male let out a loud woot as they burst out of the door and into the cool air. Shuichi found himself letting out an excited shout and a loud 'whoo!' as they jumped into the pool hand in hand.

Shuichi was submerged underwater for what felt like hours. He swam up, sputtering as he reached up to the surface. He could give a damn if his makeup began running down his face right about now. He was riding on an adrenaline high and he couldn't get enough. 

The male came back up to the surface and he cheered.

"Fuck yeah! That was so fucking amazing!" he shouted as he let out another whoop.

Shuichi laughed as he looked over at the male. The pool lights made his skin glow a light blue color. The water had flattened his wild hair significantly, sticking to his face and forehead. His eyes sparkled with joy and amusement, his bruised lips shining. The male looked so downright sexy that it made Shuichi want to kiss him again.

And that was exactly what he did.

He pulled the male close as their lips came together in yet another kiss. The male hummed into the kiss as he slung his arms over Shuichi's shoulders, his fingers slipping into the damp locks of Shuichi's hairs. Shuichi tangled his fingers in the male's hair as the male wrapped his legs around Shuichi's torso. The sudden action nearly made Shuichi stumble backwards. He was glad that they were in a more shallow part of the pool as he planted his feet down on the pool floor, running his tongue along the male's bottom lip. His lips tasted of chlorine and the grape Chapstick still lingered on them. The male willingly parted his lips, causing his tongue to slip inside and engage in a sensual tongue tango. The kiss was wild yet sensual and the deep moans coming from the male rocked Shuichi to his core.

He would've continued to kiss the male in the pool forever if only they weren't interrupted by the sound of a door swinging open and banging against a nearby wall.

"I finally found you." a familiar voice spoke.

Shuichi broke away from their intense lip lock and he turned to see Maki standing in the doorway. His eyes sparkled with delight.

"Ah! Maki! Have you come to join us, too?!" he called out.

"No, I'm taking you and Kaito back to the dorms. And who is this 'us' you're talking about?" Maki asked.

"Ah! Harukawa-chan!" the male waved excitedly at Maki. "I see you're as grumpy as always. You still on your period?" he jeered.

Maki's eyes narrowed as she glowered at the male.

"Do you want to fucking die, you piece of shit?" she snarled out.

"Ooooooh, how scary! All I wanted was to say hi!" the male whined.

"Go fuck yourself." Maki bit out.

"Why don't you stop telling me to go do things I do on a daily basis?" the male shot back.

Shuichi listened to their conversation as Maki continued to glare at the male.

"Ugh, shut up. Fuck you." she snapped.

This made the male snort.

"Such a lame and unoriginal comeback. And also, I would've gotten laid by your buddie here, but he's apparently the kind that would rather have sex while sober." the male explained.

"Huh? The fuck are you going on about?" Maki asked.

"What do you mean, huh? While you were busy doing God knows what, I was busy making out with him for a good half hour." the male explained.

"Stop lying. Shuichi wouldn't do such a thing." Maki stated.

"No, he's right." Shuichi let out a giggle. "We made out a whooooooooole lot while you were busy with Kaito!" he pumped a fist in the air. "Best first kiss ever!" Shuichi hollered, laughing as he slammed his arm back down underwater.

Maki stared at Shuichi in bewilderment before going back to glaring at the male.

"You asshole. What the hell did you do to him? Did you drug his water?" she bit out.

"Honey, this a frat party. You're really going to tell me that they'll serve water at parties like these? I'm sure that the 'water' Mister Emo Cutie drank was actually vodka." the male stated with the roll of his eyes.

"Don't you call me honey." Maki snapped.

"Then, what should I call you? Maki Roll?" the male jeered.

Maki growled.

"You are asking for it, you fucking gremlin." she hissed as she began to march over to them.

"Oooooh, how scary!" the male spoke, cackling hysterically as Maki approached the edge of the pool.

"Come on, Shuichi. Let's head back." she said, extending a hand out to him.

Shuichi giggled.

"Okie dokie~" he singsonged as he took Maki's hand and he let himself be pulled out of the pool.

"Ugh, you're soaked to the bone..." Maki mumbled.

She swung Shuichi's arm over her shoulder as she looked at the male, eyes narrowed.

"You better not be thinking of making Shuichi your next target." she spoke icily.

"Ehhhhhh?! But pure guys like him are the best kind!" the male whined.

"Cut the crap. If I find you manipulating him into sleeping with you, then—" she was cut off by a very drunk Kaito, who stumbled through the doorway and out onto the patio.

"The Luminary of the Stars has made his grand entry!" he hollered.

The male glanced at Kaito before looking back at Maki.

"Then what?" he asked.

"I'm sure you know what I mean." she bit out before turning on her heel and making her way over to Kaito, Shuichi leaning against her.

The male chuckled, propping his elbows up on the pool ledge and pressing his cheeks against his hands as he watched Shuichi, Maki, and Kaito disappear back inside the frat house.

"Shuichi, huh..." a wide grin pulled at his lips.

"Maybe this year won't be quite as boring."


	2. The Neighbor Across the Hall

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shuichi wakes up with a hangover.  
> Shuichi and Kokichi properly introduce themselves.  
> Kokichi is now his neighbor.  
> Chaos ensues.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! So, first of all, I know that I've left everyone hanging for about two months and a few days and I apologize for that. Lots of things came up during that time such as Oumasai Week, my part-time job, and just prepping to go back to school.
> 
> I'm honestly not sure how to feel about this chapter; I wrote this during a massive writer's block, so it might be all over the place (even with all the editing I did to this chapter *sighs*)

Shuichi groaned, his head throbbing as his eyes slowly opened. He blinked twice as he looked to see that he was back in his room. 

"I'm back..." he murmured.

He slowly sat up as he felt a wave of nausea hit him. A hand flew over his mouth, his eyes wide in shock.

"What the—" he had little time to react as he bent over the side of the bed, emptying the contents of his stomach into the trash bin that was conveniently placed by the side of the bed. He coughed, his head throbbing more.

"Ugh...not only do I feel sick, I also have a headache..." he mumbled under his breath.

He slowly rose his head as he spotted a glass of water and two pills resting by his phone on the desk. He crawled over to it, picking up the pills and examining them.

"Aspirin...this should help with the headache." he said.

He tossed the pills into his mouth and chased them down with some water. He rested the glass back on the desk as he saw a yellow sticky post-it note on top of his phone.

"Hm...?" he hummed out loud as he grabbed for his phone and he rested it on his lap. He peeled the post-it note off and he read the writing on it.

**_We found your phone in the hall. You must've dropped it when you disappeared. Ah, if you're wondering, I ended up bringing you back to your room after dropping Kaito off. Anyway, make sure you take that aspirin and check your phone afterwards._ **

**_~Maki_**

He read the note over again, sighing.

"I hope I didn't worry her too much..." he mumbled under his breath.

He turned on his phone and grimaced, seeing the large crack in his screen as some LED lights began leaking out from the top left corner.

"Oh god..." he went into his messages. "Just what did I wind up doing last night...?" he wondered out loud as he read the text Maki sent him.

**Maki H: Shuichi, make sure you answer when you wake up.**

Shuichi sighed.

_I should probably text her back,_ he thought to himself as he sent her a reply.

**Shuichi S: Ugh...what exactly happened last night...?**

Almost immediately, Maki sent him a reply.

**Maki H: You made my life a living hell last night. So did Kaito.**

**Shuichi S: Eh?!**

**Shuichi S: What did we do?!**

**Maki H: You both got drunk.**

Shuichi watched his phone in surprise.

"I...got drunk?" he glanced over at the desk. "I guess...that makes sense, since I did throw up and had a pounding headache...I'm also wearing the same clothes from last night." he concluded.

He sent another text to Maki.

**Shuichi S: ...I drank?**

**Maki H: Yes, you did.**

**Shuichi S: But...I was drinking water...?**

**Maki H: The water was actually vodka.**

**Maki H: You got tricked, Shuichi.**

Shuichi face palmed.

"Like I didn't know that already..." he mumbled.

He sighed.

"I should probably change into something more decent...maybe take a shower while I'm at it, too..." he trailed off as he slowly got out of the bed.

He almost fell backwards onto the mattress, but he caught himself before he could. He went over to the closet and pulled out a pair of grey sweatpants and a navy blue v-neck shirt, making his way over to the bathroom. He rested the clothes on the counter as he replied to Maki.

**Shuichi S: ...**

**Shuichi S: ...How bad was I?**

Maki responded a few moments later.

**Maki H: Not as bad as Kaito was. You were still pretty bad, though.**

**Maki H: I was taking the two of you back to the dorms and you threw up all over my clothes while Kaito threw up on my shoes.**

Almost instantly, Shuichi tensed up. He knew how Maki would get if any of them crossed the line.

**Shuichi S: [xx_emoji_fearful_xx]**

**Shuichi S: Shit.**

**Shuichi S: I am so, so sorry, Maki!!!**

**Shuichi S: I can wash your clothes for you if you want!**

**Shuichi S: Or I could go buy you a new set of clothes!**

**Maki H: Stop crying over spilled milk, Shuichi.**

**Maki H: I'm not mad.**

Shuichi arched a brow at this.

She's not mad?

_That's impossible. There's no way she isn't mad at me._ he thought to himself.

Another text from Maki came in.

**Maki H: At you, that is.**

**Shuichi S: So...you're mad at Kaito, then?**

He rested his phone on the counter as he stripped out of his clothing. As he brought his shirt over his head, a response from Maki came in. He rested his shirt on the counter as he picked up his phone and read Maki's texts.

**Maki H: He is such an obnoxious drunk. He threw up on my shoes that I bought the day before.**

**Maki H: Not only that, as soon as he finished emptying his stomach, he started singing the Boku no Pico opening.**

**Shuichi S: o.0**

**Shuichi S: What the heck?**

He put his phone down and he went to turn on the shower. He stepped in, the cool stream of water wetting his hair. He reached for the shampoo, squeezing some into the palm of his hand as he heard his phone chime multiple times.

_Kaito must've joined in,_ he thought to himself as he lathered his hair with the shampoo.

He finished taking a shower shortly after. He stepped out, towel drying his hair as he made his way back over to the counter. He went into the messaging app on his phone as another text popped up.

**Kaito M: WHAT ARE YOU SAYING I DID?!**

**Maki H: Don't act like you don't know what I'm talking about [xx_emoji_annoyed_xx]**

**Maki H: You were singing the Boku no Pico opening all the way back to Sparrow Hall, you dumbass.**

**Kaito M: I would never sing such a horrid song!**

**Kaito M:...AND WHO THE HECK YOU CALLING A DUMBASS?!**

Shuichi choked on a laugh as another set of texts came in.

**Maki H: You, obviously.**

**Maki H: There's no other dumbass in this group chat here.**

Shuichi resumed towel drying his hair, watching as more texts came in.

**Kaito M: Geez, Maki Roll...**

**Maki H: Well, I GUESS I can excuse your behavior.**

**Maki H: Besides, I'd like to think that Shuichi did something worse than singing the Boku no Pico opening at one o'clock in the morning.**

Shuichi stopped, arching a brow in confusion.

"Huh...?" he murmured out loud.

_What in the world did I do that tops Kaito singing the Boku no Pico opening?_ he asked himself.

He reached for his phone and sent out a text.

**Shuichi S: Eh? What did I do that's worse than that?**

He proceeded to reach for his container of lotion sitting by the sink as a text from Maki came in. He read it as he began to apply lotion to his skin.

**Maki H: Kaito, I found him making out with that annoying gremlin in the pool in the backyard.**

Shuichi's hand stilled inside the container of lotion.

"What the...?" he murmured as Kaito began blowing up his phone with shocked text messages.

**Kaito M: HUUUUUUUUUH?!**

**Kaito M: WHAT THE HELL?!**

**Kaito M: HE WAS MAKING OUT WITH OUMA?!**

Shuichi closed the lotion container, panic rushing through his veins as he grabbed for his phone.

"What the hell, what the hell, what the hell...that can't be right...!" he exclaimed as he quickly sent out a couple of texts.

**Shuichi S: Wait, what was I doing?!**

**Shuichi S: I made out with a stranger?!**

Maki replied moments later.

**Maki H: Yes, you did.**

**Maki H: I saw you two with my own eyes.**

He watched as another text from Kaito came in.

**Kaito M: [xx_emoji_fearful_xx][xx_emoji_gun_xx]**

**Shuichi S: Kaito, can you not do that?!**

**Kaito M: I can't help it, though!**

**Kaito M: Out of all the people at that party, you chose to drunkenly make out with Ouma?!**

Shuichi noticed that the name Ouma kept popping up in the conversation.

Just who in the world is Ouma and why are Maki and Kaito freaking out over it?

**Shuichi S: Who even is this Ouma person, anyway?!**

**Maki H: He's a little shit that deserves to be pummeled into the ground.**

Shuichi narrowed his eyes at Maki's text. Just from that, he could tell that this Ouma person is someone that Maki cannot stand. However, that did little to explain who Ouma is.

**Shuichi S: That doesn't explain anything.**

**Shuichi S: Who is he?**

Kaito replied moments later.

**Kaito M: His name is Kokichi Ouma. He's a theater major and also has quite the reputation.**

Shuichi tapped a finger against his lip.

"Kokichi...Ouma..." he murmured.

He tried to figure out if he knew the name from somewhere, but he kept drawing blanks.

"Nope." Shuichi shook his head. "Don't know him..." he mumbled under his breath.

He then reread Kaito's text, the word reputation catching his eyes.

"Reputation...?" he murmured as he sent out a text.

**Shuichi S: What kind of reputation?**

He finished using the lotion and he put the container away, reaching for his clothes. He slipped on his sweatpants and threw his shirt over his head as he notice that Kaito hadn't responded to him yet.

"Huh? That's odd..." he trailed off.

_He would've responded by now,_ he thought to himself as he reached to send out a couple more texts.

**Shuichi S: Um...**

**Shuichi S: Kaito?**

He swallowed, noticing that he still didn't respond.

**Shuichi S: You're scaring me.**

**Shuichi S: What kind of reputation does he have?**

**Shuichi S: Kaito!**

**Kaito M: Whoa, bro! Relax! No need to be so antsy! I was in the bathroom!**

**Shuichi S: Sorry...**

**Kaito M: Well, anyway, he is known for having slept with half the guys on campus.**

Shuichi nearly dropped his phone.

_I...read that wrong, right? Surely, Kaito did not just say that this Ouma guy has slept with half the guys on campus,_ he thought to himself.

He laughed nervously, the sound echoing in the bathroom.

"Yeah, I must've read that wrong." he said as he typed a response.

**Shuichi S: ...You can't be serious, right?**

**Shuichi S: That has got to be a joke.**

He watched as Maki responded to him.

**Maki H: He's not joking. This guy is despicable.**

Shuichi swallowed, staring at his phone screen as another text came in.

**Maki H: He'll do ANYTHING to try and get into someone's pants.**

Shuichi rested his phone on the counter, bringing his hand around his chin as he stared at the text. He was instantly reminded of the small bathroom at the fraternity house, the lingering taste of grape on his lips, and soft gasps after breathtaking kisses. He recalled how the male had stopped everything when Shuichi explained that he wasn't the kind of person who would hook up with strangers while under the influence, the male even going so far as to suggest that they do something else.

He frowned, his eyes narrowed as he reread Maki's texts.

"She may say that, but..." he trailed off.

His hand dropped from his chin and he picked up his phone, typing out a reply.

**Shuichi S: Well...he didn't do that with me...**

Maki's reply was almost instant.

**Maki H: Huh?**

Kaito's response came in soon after.

**Kaito M: Eh?! What do you mean?!**

**Shuichi S: He stopped when I explained to him that I am not one for having sex while intoxicated.**

**Kaito M: Seriously...?**

**Shuichi S: Yeah.**

**Maki H: That doesn't make sense. He would never just stop after listening to your explanation.**

**Maki H: He's nothing like that.**

Shuichi swallowed, hearing the annoyance laced in Maki's texts as he smoothed out his hair, groaning as he watched his ahoge pop up. He decided to leave it be as he picked up his laundry and he stepped back into his room.

For some reason, it bothered him that Maki was so determined to make it seem like this Ouma guy was a terrible person. After what he had witnessed from the shorter male last night, it was difficult for him to envision him as someone bad.

He threw his clothes into the laundry hamper and plopped down onto the bed as he typed out a response.

**Shuichi S: You may say that, but...he was actually...pretty understanding when I told him how I felt about the situation.**

**Shuichi S: Besides...**

He bit his lip as memory after memory flooded through his head. He remembered being lured onto the dance floor, dancing nice and slow to the beat of the music, being pulled away from the crowd into a bathroom, and jumping into the pool in the backyard. He was reminded of wispy locks, sparkling purple eyes, seductive smirks, slender fingers, plush lips, and a peppy yet sultry voice that made his skin tingle.

A light blush adorned his cheeks as a text from Kaito came in.

**Kaito M: Yeah? What is it, Bro?**

Shuichi swallowed as he typed out a reply.

**Shuichi S: ...I actually think he's pretty attractive???**

A text from Maki came in moments later.

**Maki H: Shuichi, are you still drunk?**

**Shuichi S: I'm not!**

**Maki H: Don't tell me that arrogant little shits who lie 24/7 are your type.**

**Shuichi S: I never said that at all!**

He got ready to type out a response detailing why he thought the male was attractive when he heard something slamming against a hard surface outside. His head snapped up from his phone screen, arching a brow in confusion.

"What the...?" he murmured.

He stood up and began to make his way over to the door, quickly typing out a text.

**Shuichi S: Ah, can you hold on? I'm hearing noises coming from outside my room.**

**Kaito M: Okay, Bro! :D**

**Maki H: Alright.**

Shuichi reached to unlock the door as another text came in.

**Maki H: Just know that our conversation is not done yet, Shuichi.**

**Shuichi S: Alright...**

He sighed, slipping his phone into his sweatpants pocket and he unlocked the door. He pushed the door open as he began to speak.

"Hey, is everything okay out he—" he stopped, nearly bumping into the broad back in front of him.

He stumbled backwards in surprise.

"What the...?" he murmured under his breath.

He then heard a small noise come from nearby. He watched as the person before him lifted up another person, the person's legs wrapping around their waist as their back was pressed to the door. His cheeks flushed red in realization.

_Did I...just walk in on some crazy makeout session?!_ he asked himself.

He swallowed.

_I...should probably go back inside and pretend that I didn't see that,_ he thought to himself.

As he was about to head back in and close the door behind him, he caught a glimpse of familiar looking wispy locks of hair.

His eyes widened in surprise.

_Was that...?_ he didn't get to finish that thought as he turned to confirm his suspicions.

Just as he thought, it was the male from last night. The person he was making out with pulled away and moved in towards his neck. His mouth opened to let out a small moan as his eyes slowly fluttered open. 

Shuichi watched as they locked eyes. He swallowed.

_Oh goodness. He spotted me. Does he...remember me?_ he asked himself.

His question was soon answered as a look of recognition flashed through his purple eyes. He watched as a smirk pulled at his lips, his eyes sparkling with mischief.

_Oh boy...is he going to...?_ his thoughts were cut off by a very obnoxious moan.

His cheeks flushed bright red as he looked at the male, who was trying his best to stifle his laughter.

_He did that on purpose...!_ he thought to himself as the male opened his mouth to speak.

"Oh my! Keisuke, I think our commotion brought one of the neighbors out!" he exclaimed in a loud, obnoxious voice.

He then looked down at him.

"Put me down." he whispered.

He nodded before bringing the male back down. He dug through his jeans pocket and pulled out a set of keys.

"Unlock the door and wait for me inside. I'll take care of him." he said, resting his hand on his arm as he handed him the keys.

He nodded before unlocking the door and slipping into the room. Once the door closed shut, the male turned to look at him, a seductive smile on his lips.

"What a coinkidink!" he brought his arms behind his back. "Seems like we meet again, Mister Emo Boy Who Would Rather Have Sex Sober." he said as he began to make his way over to him.

Shuichi's back pressed against the door as the male stopped before him, leaning in towards him. He swallowed, gold locking on purple.

"Yeah...I...I guess it is quite the coincidence..." he ran the tip of his tongue along his bottom lip. "...Ouma-kun." he said.

Ouma tilted his head to the side, a couple of strands falling into his eyes. It was silent between the two of them for a few minutes before he let out a 'nishishi'.

"My, you even know my name now! Could it be...did Harukawa-chan and Momota-chan tell you aaaaaaaall about me?" he asked, eyes sparkling in delight.

"Um...yeah, they did..." Shuichi stared at Ouma. "How exactly do you know them?" he asked.

"How do I know them? Well, you see, I used to sleep around with Momota-chan last year and Harukawa-chan would always get at me for sleeping with her man!" he chirped.

Shuichi arched a brow.

"Wait, wha—" Ouma cut him off.

"Nishishi~! That was a lie." he stated.

"It...was?" Shuichi asked.

"Yuuuuuup!" Ouma rocked back and forth on his heels. "Basically, everything that comes out of my mouth is a lie. Or maybe I'm lying about how everything I say is a lie. Or maybe I'm lying about lying about how everything I say is a lie. Who knows~" he said.

Shuichi felt like his head was spinning.

_Is he lying or telling the truth? Which is it?_ he asked himself.

"Well, actually, we know each other through the weekly seminar last year." Ouma stated as he stopped rocking on his heels.

"Weekly seminar...?" Shuichi asked.

"Oh yeah, I forgot you're new here." Ouma said.

"So...do you plan on telling me what this seminar is about or...?" Shuichi trailed off.

"Of course not! You've got to figure that one out on your own!" Ouma exclaimed.

"O...Okay, then..." that was when he noticed something. "Anyway, what are you doing here? Are you visiting someone at this hall?" Shuichi asked.

"Oh, isn't it obvious? I live here!" Ouma chirped.

"You...You do?" Shuichi asked.

"Weeeeeeeell, duh! I mean," Ouma jabbed his thumb behind him, "I live right across from you, silly!" he pointed out.

"Eh?" Shuichi looked over at the door, noticing the plaque to the side of the door that had the number 420 on it. "So...does that mean we're neighbors?" he asked.

"Yup! We sure are!" Ouma grinned. "You know, I'm actually quite glad that you moved in right across from me." he said.

Shuichi swallowed, watching how Ouma's eyes began sparkling seductively.

"Wh...Why is that...?" he asked.

"Well, you see," Ouma straddled Shuichi's leg, one hand moving to rest on Shuichi's shoulder and the other on his torso, "I reeeeeeeeeally want to get to know you more." he purred softly.

Shuichi's cheeks flushed red, his heart beginning to race.

"In...In what way, exactly...?" he asked.

"Hmmm..." Ouma hummed as he rubbed circles into Shuichi's torso with his thumb. "Maybe..." he trailed off lowly.

He rolled his hips, his knee pressing in between Shuichi's legs. Shuichi let out a surprised yelp as Ouma stared him down.

"I want to get to know you in the 'I want you to fuck me into the mattress' way." he purred, seduction dripping from his voice.

Shuichi shuddered, feeling Ouma's breath ghost along his cheek. As the tip of Ouma's nose pressed against the rise of his cheekbone, Shuichi remembered where they were.

"W-Wait! Stop!" he exclaimed.

"Huuuuuuuuh?!" Ouma pulled away, looking at him with a slightly annoyed look. "What is it?!" he asked.

"Do you realize where we are?!" Shuichi asked.

"We're in the middle of the hall, where else do you think we are?" Ouma asked.

"Yes, I get that, but—" Ouma cut him off.

"What's stopping you?" he asked.

"You can't just do this in the middle of the hallway! Someone might see us!" Shuichi pointed out.

Ouma sighed, throwing his hands on his hips.

"You're sober now, aren't you?" he asked.

"I..." Shuichi sighed. "Yes, I am." he replied.

"Then," Ouma leaned back in, hands slowly sliding down and moving to rest on Shuichi's hips, "why don't we continue from where we left off?" he suggested.

Shuichi swallowed as he watched Ouma.

"Hmmm?" Ouma tugged lightly on the band of Shuichi's sweatpants. "Maybe if I'm lucky, I can get you to sleep with me." he said, eyes twinkling with seduction.

Ouma's fingers danced along the band of Shuichi's sweatpants. Before he could proceed to pull them down, Shuichi grabbed for his wrist.

"Can you please hold on for a second?!" Shuichi asked, cheeks flushing red.

"Again?! What is it this time?!" Ouma whined.

"Well...I mean...don't you have someone waiting in your room for you? You..." Shuichi diverted his gaze. "You couldn't possibly be thinking of doing something with me when you have someone waiting on you, are you?" he asked.

He listened to Ouma let out a loud, drawn out sigh.

"Ugh! You are being quite difficult, Mister Sexy and Difficult Emo!" Shuichi looked back at Ouma as an amused smirk danced across his lips. "But then again, I do like challenges." he noted.

He brought his hands behind his head.

"Well, I'll leave you alone for now, Mister Sexy and Difficult Emo." he said as he turned and he began to make his way back over to the door.

Shuichi clenched his fists as he opened his mouth to speak.

"That's not my name, you know." Shuichi called out.

"Oh?" Ouma turned to look at him, a quizzical look on his face. "What is your name, then?" he asked.

"Saihara. Saihara...Shuichi." Shuichi replied.

"I see...Welp, I guess I'll be seeing you around!" Ouma chirped as he reached for the doorknob. He turned it and opened the door slightly.

Before he stepped in, he glanced back over his shoulder. A wide grin spread across his face.

"Saihara-chan~" he said, sending a wink in his direction before disappearing inside and closing the door behind him.

Shuichi stood in the middle of the hall, trying to comprehend what just happened.

_"Saihara-chan~"_ he felt a chill shoot through his body at the way Ouma addressed him before slipping into his room. His heart began to race, his hand reaching up to rest over his heart.

"I...I should probably step back inside..." he trailed off.

He reached for the doorknob behind him and he stumbled backwards into his room. He closed the door and pressed his back against it, sliding down onto the floor. He ran his fingers through his hair as he felt his phone vibrate against his leg. He pulled his phone out from his sweatpants pocket and he looked at the text that appeared on his screen.

**Kaito M: Yo bro! Is everything okay over there?!**

**Kaito M: You've been awfully quiet for a while now.**

Shuichi thought back to what happened moments ago. His cheeks flushed red at the thought of Ouma pressing against him, hands dancing along his body and voice whispering seductively in his ear.

_Oh my god, Shuichi, are you being serious right now? Stop thinking about that!_ he told himself.

He managed to will the blush away as he typed out a response.

**Shuichi S: Everything's fine!**

**Shuichi S: ...I think.**

He quickly got a reply.

**Kaito M: You think?**

**Maki H: Explain yourself, Shuichi.**

**Maki H: What do you mean?**

**Shuichi S: Well...**

**Shuichi S: I met my neighbor...**

**Maki H: Your neighbor?**

**Kaito M: You did?! Sweet!**

Shuichi let out an exasperated sigh.

_He's not going to think that once I tell them who that neighbor is,_ he thought to himself.

**Shuichi S: You're not going to think it's sweet once I tell you who it is.**

**Kaito M: Who is it?**

**Shuichi S: ...It's Ouma-kun.**

He watched as his phone exploded with text messages.

**Kaito M: [xx_emoji_fearful_xx]**

**Kaito M: Oh shit.**

**Maki H: WTF**

**Maki H: You need to move out from there, Shuichi.**

Shuichi was taken aback by Maki's text.

_That's extreme!_ he thought to himself as he typed out a response.

**Shuichi S: What?! I'm not just going to up and move because he lives across from me!**

**Maki H: He is going to make your life a living hell if you stay there.**

**Shuichi S: Even if that is so...**

**Shuichi S: I won't move out.**

**Kaito M: Bro, you're nuts.**

**Kaito M: Absolutely nuts.**

**Shuichi S: Maybe I am. However, I don't feel like I'm going to regret staying here. Besides, Ouma-kun interests me.**

**Maki H: How in the world does a lying gremlin like him interest you?**

Shuichi stared at Maki's text.

"Why does he interest me..." he trailed off.

_If Maki says that he would do anything to get into a guy's pants, then why did he stop when I told him to? No matter which way I look at it, it just doesn't make sense,_ he thought to himself.

He propped his chin up on his knee.

_Not only that, there is just something about him that intrigues me. He...fascinates me. In what way, I'm not sure. That's why I want to stick around and find out,_ he thought to himself.

**Shuichi S: I dunno, he just...fascinates me? I guess I just feel compelled to want to get to know him.**

**Maki H: Shuichi, you are insane.**

**Shuichi S: Whatever.**

**Kaito M: Okay, forget about that! What did he do? Did he try to seduce you or anything?**

**Shuichi S: He did, yeah. I managed to stop him before it got out of hand, though.**

**Kaito M: Well, that's good.**

**Shuichi S: ?**

**Kaito M: You stopped him from getting into your pants.**

**Shuichi S: [xx_emoji_annoyed_xx]**

**Kaito M: What?!**

**Shuichi S: Nothing.**

**Kaito M: That didn't seem like nothing...**

**Kaito M: But okay.**

Shuichi watched as a text from Maki came in.

**Maki H: Anyway, Shuichi.**

**Shuichi S: Yeah?**

**Maki H: You have plans for today?**

Shuichi arched a brow in confusion.

_Plans for today? I don't remember having any..._ he thought to himself as he exited out of the messaging app and went into his calendar app.

He quickly scrolled through, checking to see if he had anything to attend to today. He closed out of the app after seeing that he had no important events for today.

"Nope, I'm free today." he went back into the messaging app. "I wonder why she's asking, though..." he trailed off as he sent a reply.

**Shuichi S: No.**

**Shuichi S: Why?**

**Maki H: I remember you saying that you would buy me a new set of clothes after you threw up on me last night.**

Shuichi eyed Maki's text weirdly.

"I know I said that, but what does that have to do with anything? She told me that I didn't have to buy her a new set of—" he stopped, seeing that Maki had sent another text.

**Maki H: You are going to follow up on that, aren't you?**

Shuichi's eyes widened in surprise.

"What?!" he exclaimed in shock.

_I thought she said she wasn't mad at me for throwing up all over her clothes!_ he thought to himself.

**Shuichi S: So you ARE mad at me!**

**Maki H: I told you I wasn't.**

_That's obviously a lie!_ his mind shouted as a text from Kaito came in.

**Kaito M: You threw up all over her clothes?!**

**Kaito M: Dang!**

**Maki H: Don't worry, Kaito. You'll be next.**

**Maki H: You also have to buy me new shoes.**

**Kaito M: Alrighty, Maki Roll!**

Shuichi breathed out an exasperated sigh.

_Well, if she insists, I can't exactly tell her no. God knows what would happen to me if I do...he trailed off in his thoughts._

He slowly stood up and he made his way across the room, plopping down on the bed.

_Then again, I feel like she wants to talk to me about Ouma. She did mention that our conversation about that wasn't over,_ he thought to himself as he sent out a text.

**Shuichi S: ...Okay, fine.**

**Shuichi S: What time do you want to meet up?**

**Maki H: In about half an hour.**

**Maki H: I'll be waiting outside your dorm building.**

**Shuichi S: K.**

**Shuichi S: See you then.**

**Maki H: Yeah.**

**Maki H: Bye, Shuichi.**

**Kaito M: Welp, I'm gonna hit the gym.**

**Kaito M: Have fun, you two!**

Shuichi exited out of the messaging app and he looked at the time on his phone.

"Wow, it's already two in the afternoon." he looked over at the closet. "I should pick out something to wear." he said as he stood up from the bed and he made his way over to the closet.

As he opened the closet and began to pull out a pair of jeans, he couldn't help but let his mind drift to thoughts of Ouma, letting images of his deep purple eyes, wispy locks of dark hair, and seductive smirks invade his mind.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Follow me on Tumblr @kawaiikichi for story previews, updates/notices, and other fanfic-related things!*  
> Link: http://kawaiikichi.tumblr.com/


	3. Tease

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shuichi and Maki talk.  
> There's a mandatory floor meeting on the fourth floor.  
> Kokichi's back at it again with the flirting.  
> Kaede Has Run Into a Dilemma: Part One.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, I'm actually managing to update just about a month later (and on my birthday, too). I shock myself sometimes with the overwhelming motivation I have for this fanfic...
> 
> Some other characters are being introduced in this chapter; can you guess who they might be? (Hint: two are from V3 and one is from SDR2; let's hope characterization is okay)
> 
> I had to rewrite quite a few scenes that were giving me a hard time, but I hope it turned out okay!

Shuichi stood in the elevator, smoothing out the wrinkles in his navy blue v-neck shirt. He would occasionally glance at his phone, watching the time. 

"Two twenty-seven..." he murmured under his breath.

He pocketed his phone as the elevator came to a stop at the lobby. The doors slid open and he stepped out, making his way over to the door.

"Have a good day!" the person at the front desk called out to him.

"You too!" Shuichi called out in response as he pushed the door open.

He immediately spotted Maki standing under a tree in a plain white shirt, dark jeans, black Vans, and a red and black checkered button up shirt tied around her waist.

"Maki!" Shuichi called out.

Maki glanced over at him.

"Hey, Shuichi." she replied.

She then began fishing through the bag she had in her hand, pulling out something wrapped in foil.

"Catch." she said.

"Catch...?!" Shuichi had little time to react as she threw the item at him. He caught it, nearly dropping it due to how hot it was.

"What is this?" Shuichi asked as he approached her.

"Breakfast burrito." she crumpled up the bag in her hands. "I figured you might want something to eat, seeing as you woke up not too long ago." she explained.

"Ah. Well, thanks." Shuichi said as he unwrapped the burrito and he took a bite out of it.

"Well, shall we get going?" she asked.

"Yeah, let's go." Shuichi replied in between small bites as they began walking in the direction of the downtown area on campus.

Maki threw the crumpled up bag in a nearby trash bin as a car passed by them on the road.

"So...how has your day been so far?" he asked in an attempt to start up a conversation.

"What do you think?" she asked, glancing at him out of the corner of her eye.

"Ah...Well..." Shuichi chuckled nervously. "I was just hoping to start up a conversation..." he trailed off.

They crossed the street, passing by some small Victorian-style homes as Maki sighed deeply.

"Fine. I'll amuse you." Maki crossed her arms over her chest. "My day so far has been absolutely horrendous. My clothes and shoes got ruined, I didn't get much sleep last night, and I now have to deal with a certain stupid, purple-haired asshole trying to make a move on my friend." she stated.

"A-Ah...I see..." Shuichi trailed off.

They continued to walk side by side in relative silence as Shuichi began to think.

_I still don't have a clue as to why Maki is so against Ouma-kun. I mean, yeah, he's a bit much, but I don't understand what it is he did that made her hate him so much,_ he thought to himself.

He glanced at Maki as the downtown area came into view.

_Maybe this'll be my chance to ask her and get some answers,_ he thought to himself as they crossed the street into downtown.

That was when his eyes landed on the button up shirt that Maki had tied around her waist. As he continued to think about it, he noticed that the shirt looked familiar.

"That shirt...where have I seen it...?" he muttered under his breath.

As he finished his breakfast burrito and threw the foil into a nearby trash bin, a light bulb flickered on in his head. He was instantly reminded of sophomore year, meteor showers during the winter break, and Kaito throwing that exact same shirt over him when he, Kaito, Kaede, and Maki watched the meteor shower from Kaito's roof.

"Hey, Maki..." he swallowed, watching as Maki looked over at him. "Isn't that Kaito's shirt?" he asked.

"It is. Why, does it bother you?" she responded.

"It's not that it bothers me!" they took a left onto a street lined with various restaurants, candy shops, and antique stores. "It's just...since when did it become yours?" he asked.

Maki stayed silent for what seemed to be a very long while. Then, he watched as her hands slowly raised up to play with one of her ponytails, her cheeks turning a light shade of red.

"W-Well...we went to see the fireworks in Tokyo for New Year's and he threw it over my shoulders because I was feeling cold. I tried to give it back to him the next day and he told me that I could have it, so I just...kept it..." she murmured.

Shuichi was tempted to tell her about the blush that had spread across her cheeks, but he knew that she would probably tell him that he was either seeing things or it was because of the weather. He decided to keep it to himself as they stopped in front of a boutique named Lily at the corner of the street.

"This is where I got the clothes that I wore last night." she stated.

"Alright." Shuichi replied as Maki opened the door and they stepped inside.

The first thing that caught Shuichi by surprise was how feminine the store looked, with small chandeliers hanging from the ceiling and baby pink walls that had lily designs on them. He quietly noted how the clothes in the store reminded him of what Kaede would usually wear. As Maki went over to observe a pair of mint green colored shorts, a question popped into his mind.

Since when did Maki have an interest in clothes like that?

He opened his mouth to voice his question, but she beat him to it.

"Just so you know, Kaede was the one that brought me here one day. Ever since then, I guess...I just started frequenting here..." she mumbled as she reached up to play with her ponytail again.

Shuichi's eyebrow arched up at the action. He had noticed that whenever Kaito would compliment her or say something that would leave her flustered, she would reach to play with her ponytail. Even when she would mention him and whatever he said to her, she would do the same thing. Shuichi concluded that the reason why she decided to shop at a store that was meant more for Kaede had something to do with Kaito.

_Has she fallen for him without realizing it? What exactly happened while I was at Oxford?_ he asked himself.

Shuichi nodded.

"Alright. I'll take your word for it." he said.

Maki's eyes narrowed.

"That was an awfully long pause, Shuichi." she stated.

"Ah, sorry, sorry." he watched as she picked up a burgundy red top. "So, what kind of outfit were you thinking, exactly?" he asked.

"Eh, I'm not looking for anything too specific. Just pick something out and I'll go try it on." Maki ran her thumb along the sleeve of a red v-neck long sleeve. "Shirt size is small and pants size is five." she said.

"Oh, alright." Shuichi said as they began to browse through the many racks of clothing.

As Shuichi picked out a shredded back dark red and black tye dye top, Maki turned to look at him.

"You do know that I called you out here for a reason, right?" she asked.

"I had a feeling that's what it was." Shuichi picked out a black tank top and a pair of galaxy patterned shorts. "Should I guess what the topic of discussion is?" he asked.

Maki eyed Shuichi.

"I think you've lost your marbles." she stated bluntly before reaching out towards him, snatching the clothes from him, and storming off towards the dressing rooms at the back of the store.

"Huh?! W-Wait a minute! Maki!" Shuichi walked after her. "What exactly do you mean by that?!" he called out.

Maki stopped in front of one of the dressing rooms, glancing over her shoulder at him as she did so.

"It's exactly what it means. You're fucking insane." she stated before pushing open the curtain, stepping into the dressing room, and pulling the curtain behind her.

Shuichi could only stare at the pale pink curtain in stunned silence as he dropped down onto a white leather couch.

"What the heck...?" he murmured as he reached up to run his fingers through his hair.

_What kind of response is that? How in the world does that relate to what she wants to talk to me about,_ he asked himself.

He propped his elbow up on his thigh, his cheek pressed against the palm of his hand as Maki stepped out in the outfit he had picked out.

"You have a pretty good taste in fashion, Shuichi. Did you pick up some trends or something while you were in London?" she asked.

"Not really...I just figured that it would look good on you..." he trailed off.

Maki looked at Shuichi before sighing, making her way over to him.

"You do realize that you should have nothing to do with that little shit, right?" she asked, dropping down beside him on the couch.

"Who exactly are you—Oh. You mean Ouma-kun, right?" Shuichi asked.

"I don't know who else I could be referring to." Maki tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "But anyway, he's not someone you should get deeply involved with." she stated.

"Why not?" Shuichi asked.

"He's very manipulative and a little too good at being able to get what he wants. He doesn't care how low he'll have to stoop, as long as he gets good sex in the end." Maki explained.

Shuichi furrowed his brows at this.

"Now, I don't think that's quite right..." he trailed off.

"You're only saying that because he hasn't shown you his darker side yet. That's what he does. He acts all cutesy and innocent and once you let your guard down, he'll ensnare you and have you trapped in his clutches." she pointed out.

"Maki, you don't understand—" she cut him off before he could refute her statement again.

"Shuichi, you are being blinded by what happened last night. Just because he happened to 'let things go' last night doesn't mean he'll continue to do the same thing. Trust me, you need to stop while you are ahead or else you'll fall under his wretched spell like how all those guys who slept with him have." she stared at him with a serious expression on her face. "Do you really want to get involved with the campus's manwhore, Shuichi?" she asked.

Shuichi swallowed at the way she spat out the word manwhore like it were something venomous.

_She is dead serious. I should probably say that I will stop trying to get involved so she could stop fretting over me,_ he thought to himself.

"I...I'll try my best to stay away. And to resist him no matter what. I promise you that." Shuichi said.

"You swear you won't let him sway you?" she asked.

"Positive." Shuichi replied.

"You better not turn back on your word, Shuichi. If you do, then our next conversation pertaining that gremlin won't be as calm as this." she said before standing up and heading back into the dressing room.

Shuichi sighed.

"I should just stop while I'm ahead, huh..." he murmured under his breath.

He rolled his head back to look up at the chandelier dangling above his head, his thoughts drifting back to Ouma.

_He does certainly seem like the trickster type. Maybe he is trying to mess with me. But, I can't stop being fascinated by him. I want to know more about him,_ he thought to himself.

He looked at the pale pink curtain that shielded Maki from view as he felt his phone vibrate against his leg.

"Hm?" he wondered out loud as he took out his phone, a message popping up on his phone saying that he had received an email.

He went into his email app and saw that am email from Hajime came in.

"Hajime...?" he murmured as he tapped on the email and he looked it over.

**Just a reminder that the mandatory floor meeting is tonight at 7pm in the lounge!**

**Make sure you show up or else Nagito and I will hunt you down because we will be discussing the ground rules and such. You definitely don't want to miss that. Also, we've got free pizza! Who would be stupid enough to miss out on getting free pizza, anyway?**

**Hajime Hinata, 4th Floor CA**

**Phoenix Hall Rm 431**

"Floor meeting, huh..." he trailed off as Maki stepped out of the dressing room in her normal clothes.

"Take these, as you're going to be buying them for me." she said, handing him the clothes that she tried on before.

"Alright." Shuichi said, taking the clothes from her and they headed up to the cash register.

* * *

Shuichi stepped out of the bathroom in a pair of baggy sweatpants and an old band t-shirt Kaito lent him back in their junior year of high school. He grabbed for his phone, looking at the time on it.

"Six forty-five..." his phone screen went dark. "I should probably get going to the lounge..." he murmured.

He padded over to the dresser and he pulled out a pair of socks, slipping them onto his feet. He grabbed for his pair of Converse and he slipped them on, quickly tying the shoelaces before grabbing his keys and stepping out of the room. He closed the door and he made his way down the hall.

"Lounge..." he murmured as he continued down the hall.

As he reached the end of the hall, he ran into a male with blond hair and blue eyes.

"Oh! Good evening! Are you going to the lounge, too?" the male asked.

"Yeah, I am." Shuichi replied.

"Cool! We can go together, then!" the male then extended his hand out in Shuichi's direction. "The name's Keebo, by the way." he introduced.

"Ah...nice to meet you, Keebo-kun." Shuichi shook Keebo's hand. "I'm Saihara. Saihara Shuichi." he said.

"Well, it's a pleasure to meet you, Saihara-kun!" Keebo said as they began to head down the hall together, Keebo leading the way to the lounge.

"So, what are you majoring in, Saihara-kun?" he asked.

"Ah, I'm majoring in criminology." Shuichi replied.

"Oh, that sounds neat!" Keebo said.

"Yeah. I actually help my uncle out at his detective firm from time to time. I'm hoping to become a detective like him." Shuichi explained.

"Ah, so you want to become a detective, huh..." Keebo brought his arms behind his back. "That sounds nice." he commented.

"What about you, Keebo-kun? What are you majoring in?" Shuichi asked.

"Ah, I'm majoring in engineering! More specifically, in robotic engineering." Keebo replied.

"Oh, really? That sounds pretty amazing." Shuichi commented as Keebo stopped in front of a door at the end of the hall that said Fourth Floor Lounge.

"So this here is the lounge. And the room across from that," Keebo motioned to the door across the hall, which said Study Room, "is the study room, where you can go and study in peace and quiet if you need to. Or, if you're holding a group study session, you can host it in there. It's got a large table, chairs, a white board, and some dry erase markers." Keebo explained.

"Ah, alright." Shuichi said.

Keebo reached to open the door and they stepped into the lounge.

The lounge was a relatively decent size with dark blue carpet and teal colored walls. There were three couches in the room along with a medium sized coffee table and a TV hooked up onto the wall to the left. To the right side of the room was a set of various arcade games ranging from air hockey and pool tables to Pac-Man and Donkey Kong. 

The room was already filled with other students that lived on the floor, chatting amongst each other. Shuichi scanned the room in hopes of spotting a certain purple-haired male, but he was nowhere to be found. He figured that he'd probably show up sooner or later.

"Ah, you two!" Hajime waved them over. "Come sign in on the clipboard here." he said, waving the clipboard around in his hand.

Keebo and Shuichi walked over to Hajime, writing down their names and room number down on the sheet of paper clipped to the clipboard.

"Oh, make sure you also take your slice of pizza, as well. You can choose from either cheese or pepperoni." Hajime said, nodding his head over at the two pizza boxes sitting atop a table by the pool table.

"Ah, thanks." Shuichi said as him and Keebo made their way over to the table. He picked up a plate and took a slice of cheese pizza while Keebo took a slice of pepperoni pizza.

"Ah! They got the pizza from The Big Bear Pizzeria! They make really good pizza." Keebo commented.

"Is that so?" Shuichi asked.

"Yeah! Try it for yourself!" Keebo said as he bit into his slice.

Shuichi nodded as he also picked up his slice of pizza and bit into it.

"Mmmm...this really does taste good..." he trailed off, feeling the cheese practically melt in his mouth as he savored the taste.

"Isn't it?!" Keebo gushed excitedly as a loud voice reached their ears.

"Oi, Keebo! I thought we were going to walk to the lounge together!" a girl with long strawberry blonde hair and icy blue eyes nearly slammed into Keebo, slinging her arm over his shoulders.

"Ack! I-Iruma-san!" Keebo squawked out, nearly dropping his plate of pizza in shock.

"Stop referring to me by my last name! We've known each other since elementary school, for crying out loud!" the girl named Iruma barked out.

"I'm only trying to be polite!" Keebo exclaimed.

"Oh, whatevs! Let's go sit down over there!" she hollered.

"Ah! W-Wait a minute—" Iruma cut him off.

"Nuh-uh! I ain't waiting another damn second! And also, where is that little fucker?! Is he getting pounded into the mattress again?!" she asked.

"I...I wouldn't know! I don't dabble that far into his personal affairs! Uh..." Keebo shot an apologetic look at Shuichi. "I'm really sorry, Saihara-kun!" he called out.

Shuichi laughed nervously as Iruma sat down at one of the couches and yanked Keebo down next to her.

_The heck was that all about,_ he thought to himself as he sat down on one of the chairs close to the couch by the door.

Hajime let out an annoyed 'tch' as he pulled out his phone and he looked at it.

"It's almost seven and he's still not here yet...where the hell is he...?" he grumbled under his breath.

Just as he said that, the door opened to reveal a male with pale skin, disheveled white hair, and green eyes. Hajime let out a sigh, hands moving to rest on his hips.

"Goddammit, Komaeda, the fuck were you doing for so long?" he hissed.

Komaeda chuckled lightly.

"Oh, my beloved Hinata-kun, there's no need for you to get all riled up like that." he cooed teasingly, shoving his hands into his coat pockets as he sauntered over to him.

"I am not getting riled up over anything." Hajime nearly staggered backwards as Komaeda leaned in close to him. "And stop calling me your beloved. It's gross." he stated.

"Aw, but I like calling you that." he pulled away from Hajime. "Also, I was busy getting other things done before this. I don't have to be at your every beck and call, you know." he stated.

Hajime snorted.

"Just shut the fuck up." he looked at the time on his phone and then he looked up at the others. "Alright, we should get started with the floor meeting. We're missing one person, but that's okay. We can just go on ahead without them." he said.

He looked at Komaeda.

"You go ahead and start." he said.

"Oh my, I can't believe you're letting worthless trash like myself kick off this floor meeting. I feel absolutely honored!" Komaeda gushed excitedly.

Shuichi quirked a brow at Komaeda's response.

"Well, hello everyone! I am Nagito Komaeda, one of the CAs on this floor. I am currently a senior and I am a creative writing major. I live in Room 430 and I guess a fun fact about myself is that I really love reading books." Nagito said.

"Yeah, he loves reading them so much that I have to drag his ass back to the dorms every night at around one in the morning." Hajime commented.

"I mean, you don't have to, but you do it anyway. Maybe you actually have feelings for me, Hinata-kun?" he asked.

Some of the students snickered while Hajime's cheeks flushed red.

"Wha—?! Don't be an idiot!" Hajime crossed his arms over his chest. "A-Anyway, I'm going to introduce myself to you, as well. I am Hajime Hinata, the other CA on this floor. I am currently a senior and I am double majoring in psychology and European Studies. I live next door to Nagito in Room 431 and a fun fact about myself is that I traveled to Europe once." he said.

"Alright, now that we've introduced ourselves, we're going to go over the ground rules." Nagito looked over at Hajime. "Hinata-kun? Why don't you start with the first topic of discussion?" he suggested.

"Alright. So, let's talk alcohol. I'm pretty sure you guys are smart enough. I mean, you're in college, after all. You are not allowed to have any alcohol on the premises whatsoever. Yes, I know that the frat kids get their hands on alcohol every once in a while. And to be honest, I don't really care. Alcohol is not allowed. Like, at all. If you want to drink so badly, then go do it somewhere off campus. If we catch you with alcohol, we have the right to—" Hajime glanced over at the door. "You're late." he commented.

Everyone turned their attention to the door. Shuichi turned to see who had stepped in and he locked eyes with Ouma, who had changed over into a baggy checkered hoodie, black yoga capris that shaped his legs perfectly, and black flip flops. He had his hair pulled back into a small ponytail.

He swallowed, seeing how attractive Ouma looked in such a simple outfit. Ouma stared at him for half a second before looking over at Hajime, a wide smile stretching across his lips.

"Sorry, sorry, Haji-chan! I was sooooooooo caught up in some personal business that I completely lost track of time!" he exclaimed.

Hajime breathed out an exasperated sigh.

"This is, what, the fifth time you've walked into a mandatory meeting late like this?" he reached up to rub at his temple. "I swear to God, you give me a headache sometimes with the way you act." he commented.

"Nishishi~I learned from the best, after all." Ouma said, shooting finger guns in Nagito's direction.

Nagito did the same, causing Hajime to groan.

"Ugh, I regret letting you hang out with him! Just...sit down already!" Hajime barked out.

"Okie dokie~!" Ouma chirped in response as he skipped over to the couch where Keebo and Iruma were seated. Iruma began conversing with him, causing Ouma to shove her roughly and Keebo to scold him while Iruma squirmed about.

Shuichi eyed them as a thought came to him.

_Are those three friends or something,_ he asked himself.

Ouma looked away from Iruma and their eyes met again. Ouma blinked twice before a sly smile pulled at his lips. He rose his hand and waved in a flirtatious fashion before blowing a kiss in Shuichi's direction. Shuichi's cheeks flushed red, causing Ouma to giggle behind his hand as Nagito spoke.

"So, next topic of discussion: as much as it pains me to say this, no drugs on campus at all. If you are caught with drugs in your room, you will be facing pretty hefty consequences. However, if you're really desperate to pop one or smoke a joint, hit me up and I'll show you places where you can do that without getting caught." Nagito explained.

"And just know that that also includes cigarettes." Hajime said, looking at Ouma as he said that.

"What?!" Ouma threw his hands up in defense. "I left all my cigarettes at home! I mean it!" he exclaimed.

"Alright. I really hope so, Ouma." Hajime said.

Shuichi arched a brow at this.

_He smokes? That's interesting...actually, what I find interesting is the interaction between Ouma and Hajime...how exactly did those two get acquainted with one another?_ he asked himself.

"Anyway, onto our next topic of discussion. I know that most of you are in relationships and what not. So, I just want to tell you to be safe and that consent is important. If Nagito or myself sense that there might be something going on, we have a right to report it. Look, I may act like a complete asshole sometimes and Nagito may act like he's high twenty-four seven, but we care about your well-being. If something happens to you or if something is going on between you and someone else, you are more than welcome to come talk to one of us. Your safety is our priority." Hajime explained.

He then looked over at Nagito.

"Did we cover everything?" he asked.

"Hm...I believe that might be it!" Nagito chirped.

Hajime narrowed his eyes at him.

"Are you sure that's it?" he asked.

"Yup! Positive! Remember, we can always send out an email if there's anything we forgot to mention." Nagito explained.

"Okay, fine." Hajime looked away from Nagito. "So, to summarize everything: don't be stupid, don't do drugs, don't drink, we'll report you if you start acting like a dumbass, and please, for the love of God, stay safe." he explained.

He clapped his hands.

"Also, classes are starting tomorrow, so good luck and I hope your year at Hope's Peak goes well." Hajime said.

"I'm sure you guys will all do well! I mean, I can just sense the overwhelming feeling of hope radiating off of you!" Nagito gushed excitedly.

"Ugh, knock it off with that nonsense already..." Hajime shoved Nagito lightly. "So, that concludes our meeting. You all are free to leave now." Hajime said.

Everyone stood up all at once and they began to file out of the lounge. Shuichi stood and he slipped out of the lounge, heading back towards his room. He managed to reach close to his room as a voice called out to him.

"Hey there, cutie." Ouma appeared next to him as he reached out and smacked Shuichi's ass.

Shuichi let out a surprised yelp as he pulled away from Ouma, whirling around to look at him.

"What was that for?!" he asked.

"What? Can't I do things because I want to?" Ouma replied nonchalantly, bringing his arms behind his head with an innocent look on his face.

"I mean, you can do what you want, but I don't think that includes you touching me like that!" Shuichi hissed.

"Oh, don't lie, I'm sure you liked that." Ouma said as they stopped in front of their rooms.

Shuichi swallowed as Ouma slowly made his way over to him. With each step forward that Ouma took, Shuichi took one step backward until his back was pressed up against the room door. Ouma blinked up at him with his large purple eyes, lips shimmering as he ran his tongue along them.

"Uh...so...why exactly are you trapping me against my door again...?" Shuichi asked.

"Because I can. And also," Ouma straddled Shuichi's leg, "I want to try again." he said.

"Try again? What do you—" Shuichi's eyes landed on Ouma's neck.

His neck was lined with hickies, some old and some new. The dark marks on his neck were a stark contrast to his pure white skin.

"Hm? Saihara-chan, are you tuning me out?" Ouma let out a 'tsk tsk tsk'. "My, my...that's not very polite." he said.

He then suddenly rolled his hips, his knee brushing against Shuichi's groin. Shuichi gasped in shock, staring at Ouma with wide eyes.

"Ou...Ouma-kun...!" he exclaimed.

"Ah, seems like I caught your attention again. Why you zoning out on me like that?" he asked.

"Um...it's just..." Shuichi watched as Ouma tilted his head to the side. "Well..." he trailed off, his eyes traveling back down to Ouma's neck.

Ouma followed his gaze and smirked knowingly.

"Ah, I see what you're looking at. You like my collection of hickies?" he asked.

Shuichi swallowed, watching as a seductive smile began to form on Ouma's face.

"Just in case you were wondering, after our encounter in the hall, I had two other guys come visit me and fuck me real good. They left hickies aaaaaaaaall over me!" he declared.

"I...! I wasn't wondering about that at all!" Shuichi pointed out.

"Hm? But, you kept staring at them like you were curious about them..." Ouma tapped a finger against his chin before letting out a small 'aha'. "Or...maybe you're staring at them because you wish those were actually your hickies on my neck?" he asked.

Shuichi's cheeks flushed bright red.

"What...?!" he squeaked out as Ouma laughed.

"Nishishi, you're so fun to mess with. But you know, if you want," Ouma leaned in closer, pressing their bodies together as he tilted his head to the side to expose his neck to him, "I wouldn't mind letting you make some hickies on my neck." he purred softly, his hand moving up to thread his fingers through Shuichi's hair.

Shuichi felt a chill course through his body as Ouma fisted his fingers in his hair and he pulled Shuichi's head closer to his neck.

"Go on." Ouma's other hand danced up Shuichi's leg. "Mark me, Saihara-chan." he called out in a low, seductive voice as he traced Shuichi through his sweatpants.

Shuichi whimpered, feeling Ouma press the palm of his hand against the growing bulge in his sweat pants.

"That..." he breathed against Ouma's neck.

"Well?" Ouma asked.

Shuichi felt like he was drowning in Ouma's scent, the shorter male smelling like grapes and lavender vanilla shampoo. He found his body moving of its own accord as he leaned in even closer, his nose brushing against Ouma's neck. Before his mouth landed on Ouma's neck, Maki's words came back to him.

_"He's very manipulative and a little too good at being able to get what he wants...Trust me, you need to stop while you are ahead or else you'll fall under his wretched spell like how all those guys who slept with him have."_ her words danced around in his head and he stopped, realizing what he was about to do.

"...No. No, I'm not going to do it." he said, his breath hitting Ouma's neck as he spoke.

Ouma let out a frustrated 'tch' as he pulled his head away to look at him, his lips curling into a pout.

"Geez, you truly are stubborn. And why not?" he asked.

"Well...first of all..." he swallowed as he watched Ouma tilt his head to the side. "We...We only met last night! How do you expect me to do something to you when I don't feel attracted to you in that way, let alone actually know who you are as a person!" Shuichi pointed out.

Ouma let out an overly exaggerated groan.

"Ugh, you're one of **_THOSE_** guys. The kind who wants to actually get to know me before they choose to fuck me." he continued to stare into Shuichi's eyes. "Where's the fun in that? I mean, isn't it more thrilling to have sex with someone you've never met?" he asked.

"I don't see how that could be thrilling." Shuichi stated.

"I mean, you weren't necessarily complaining when you made out with me last night. If you had gotten more drunk than that last night, I'm preeeeeetty sure you wouldn't have hesitated to fuck me against the door like there was no tomorrow." Ouma commented, the sly smirk returning to his face.

"Geh...!" the blush reappeared on Shuichi cheeks as he reached towards Ouma. "Stop that already...! Like I said, I can't do things like that unless I know the person first!" he exclaimed, pushing Ouma away from him.

The sly smirk dropped from Ouma's face as he pouted.

"Aw...I can't even kiss you?" he asked as he moved back in, leaning in so that their lips were mere inches apart.

"N-No! Of..." Shuichi trailed off, his eyes landing on Ouma's lips.

He swallowed. Ouma's lips were so pink and kissable that Shuichi wanted nothing more than to swap their positions and press Ouma into the wall, tasting him and drowning in him all over again. Ouma puckered his lips a little as he blinked up at him, a seductive twinkle in his eyes.

After a few minutes, Shuichi found it in him to speak.

"...Of course not..." he trailed off.

"Now, that's got to be a lie. It was clear that you were watching my lips and thinking about throwing me against the wall as you kissed me." Ouma stated.

"Uh...!" Shuichi's cheeks turned even redder.

"Well? Aren't you going to fulfill that desire you have bottled up inside you and kiss me until I can't breathe?" Ouma leaned in even further. "Hm, Saihara-chan?" he whispered in a sultry voice, their lips barely brushing against one another.

Shuichi's heart raced rapidly as he felt electricity shoot through him. The feeling of Ouma's lips brushing against his own was too much for him to handle. He squeezed his eyes shut as he spoke.

"I...! I'm going back in my room!" he exclaimed as he quickly turned around and he pulled out his keys, fumbling to unlock the door.

"Oh. Well, that's a shame. I mean," Ouma slipped his hand in between Shuichi's legs, "you're still considerably hard, you know." he said as he groped Shuichi's groin.

Shuichi gasped, feeling a shuddering sensation roll through his body as Ouma continued. He tried to suppress a moan as Ouma leaned in to whisper in his ear.

"Should I do something about it, Saihara-chan?" he stroked the bulge in Shuichi's sweatpants. "Do you want me to drop down on my knees and suck you off until you cum in my mouth? Or maybe I should give you a handjob and have you shoot your cum all over my face." he said.

He licked the shell of Shuichi's ear as Shuichi let out a strained whimper.

_This is bad. I need to get back into my room before I completely lose it...!_ he thought to himself.

"I...I can take care of it myself!" he finally managed to unlock his door. "I'm going in!" he said as he quickly slipped into his room and closed the door behind him.

He pressed his back to the door as Ouma laughed.

"Nishishi, you're really adorable when you squirm like that. Don't you worry, you'll be giving into me soon enough." he listened as Ouma's footsteps faded away. The door across the hall opened and closed, causing Shuichi to breathe a sigh of relief.

"Oh god...I almost thought I was going to give into him..." he looked down at his sweat pants. "And this erection looks like it's not going to go away anytime soon..." he trailed off.

He glanced at his hand and then back at the bulge in his sweat pants.

"Oh, to hell with it..." he mumbled under his breath as he reached down towards his sweat pants.

As his hand slipped inside, he felt his phone vibrate. He groaned in annoyance.

"Who is it now...?" he mumbled, withdrawing his hand as he took out his phone and he read the text that he had received.

**Kaede A: Shuichi? You there?**

He was tempted to tell her that he was about to take care of some personal business (he would never tell her that he was about to masturbate in a million years), but he decided against it.

**Shuichi S: Yeah? What's up, Kaede?**

**Kaede A: Um...can we talk? It's important.**

**Kaede A: You're the first person I'm talking to about this. Even Maki doesn't know.**

Shuichi arched a brow. Is it something that even Maki shouldn't know about?

**Shuichi S: Um...alright. What is it?**

Kaede didn't respond for a good few minutes. He was about to text her again and ask if everything was okay when a response came in.

**Kaede A: ...I think I had sex with Amami-kun last night.**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A little bit of vocab that I should've explained back in Chapter 1, but didn't:  
> -CA: Short for community assistant; they are students tasked with watching over you during your stay in the dorms and are required to report anything that may seem suspicious or off. They can be friendly, but make sure you don't piss 'em off!  
> -Pink sheet: This pink sheet is otherwise known as your room investigation report. You basically scan the room and note down any damages if there are anything. The categories for each item that needs to be inspected is: Excellent, Satisfactory, Poor, and Dissatisfactory (or you can just consider that severely damaged)
> 
> *Follow me on Tumblr @kawaiikichi for story previews, updates/notices, and other fanfic-related things!*  
> Link: http://kawaiikichi.tumblr.com/


	4. Never Have I Ever

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kaede Has Run Into A Dilemma: Part Two.  
> It's the first day of classes.  
> Breaking news: Kokichi is STILL flirting.  
> Let's play a little Never Have I Ever.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter is finally finished! Man, this one was a tough one to write, especially the last scene. There was actually supposed to be one more scene in this chapter, but I decided to just put that as the beginning scene for the next chapter in order for things to flow properly and actually make sense.
> 
> I brought in yet another character (I was trying not to, but it just happened). Hint, hint, they're from DR1. And also, the rest of the NDRV3 cast has shown up, but not all of them have been properly introduced. The ones that I didn't bring up will eventually be introduced as we go along (I'm hoping characterization is okay...).
> 
> I apologize for the lengthy author's note (I tend to ramble on when there are certain things I want to mention beforehand XD); here's the next chapter!

Shuichi blinked, rereading Kaede's text over and over in hopes that he read it wrong. 

However, the text stared him in the face no matter how many times he reread it.

**Kaede A: ...I think I had sex with Amami-kun last night.**

_Wait...what?_

That was exactly how he responded as he typed out his reply to her.

**Shuichi S: Wait...what?**

A few moments later, Kaede responded.

**Kaede A: Yes, it sounds like total nonsense, but it's true.**

**Kaede A: I think we actually did it last night.**

Shuichi arched a brow.

_She thinks they did it? What is that supposed to mean? Did they do it or not?_  he wondered to himself.

**Shuichi S: So...you THINK you guys had sex or you KNOW you guys had sex? I'm not quite following here.**

**Kaede A: I know that we had sex.**

**Kaede A: I woke up naked in his bedroom and I saw a lot of marks and hickies all over my body.**

**Shuichi S: ...You at least used protection, right?**

He swallowed as he waited for her reply. The longer it took for her to respond, the more worried he got. What if they didn't use protection? He figured that people who had sex while drunk would forgo the condom and just go for it. Besides, alcohol makes people forget rationality and do things on impulse.

If they didn't use protection, what would happen? What if Kaede got pregnant? What if she was forced to drop out of college so she could take care of the baby? What if her parents kicked her out for having sex and getting pregnant before marriage? What if Rantaro ended up leaving her because he didn't want to take responsibility for what he had done? What if—

Before Shuichi could proceed to spiral out of control, Kaede sent him a reply.

**Kaede A: I'm pretty sure we did. I saw a used condom in his trash bin by the bed.**

Shuichi breathed out a sigh of relief.

"Oh, thank goodness..." he muttered under his breath.

**Shuichi S: Oh, thank goodness.**

**Shuichi S: I got scared for a second there.**

**Kaede A: Oh, there's no need to be scared, Shuichi!**

**Shuichi S: But...Kaede, you...**

**Shuichi S: I was expecting this kind of thing from Kaito, not you.**

**Kaede A: People are different when they're drunk, you know.**

**Shuichi S: I know.**

**Kaede A: Especially you. I heard from Maki that you were making out with Ouma-kun last night?**

Shuichi's cheeks instantly flushed red as he recalled when he had Ouma pressed against the bathroom door, lips engaged in a heated liplock. He recalled what happened not too long ago, Ouma trying to entice him into giving him a hickey and massaging him through his sweatpants, that seductive smile curling his beautiful lips upward.

_"Should I do something about it, Saihara-chan? Do you want me to drop down on my knees and suck you off until you cum in my mouth? Or maybe I should give you a handjob and have you shoot your cum all over my face."_ Ouma's words danced around in his head, causing him to let out a startled yelp as he brought his hand over the bulge in his sweatpants that reappeared (he couldn't recall when his erection had gone limp).

"Did she really have to bring him up now...?!" he whined as he typed out a response.

**Shuichi S: Geh...! She told you already?!**

**Kaede A: Well yeah??? We always tell each other everything???**

Shuichi rolled his eyes at that, the blush fading away along with his erection.

**Shuichi S: That's quite contradictory.**

**Shuichi S: You say you tell each other everything and yet, I'm the first one to find out about your sexual escapades [xx_emoji_annoyed_xx]**

**Kaede A: Ooooooooh, you've got quite the spicy vocabulary there ;)**

**Shuichi S: Geez...**

**Shuichi S: But anyway, did you guys at least talk about what happened?**

**Kaede A: Well...yeah.**

Shuichi eyed her text in confusion.

"That doesn't sound too confident..." he murmured.

_Did the talk not go well or something,_ he asked himself as he typed out a reply.

**Shuichi S: That doesn't sound too confident.**

**Kaede A: I know, I know.**

**Kaede A: It's just...I'm still trying to process everything myself, especially with what he said to me and what not.**

**Shuichi S: Do you wanna tell me what happened?**

Shuichi watched as a pink bubble appeared and then disappeared in the bottom left corner of the screen. He figured that she was trying to word her explanation in a way that would make sense.

After a few minutes of waiting, her response came in.

**Kaede A: Ah, I don't know if I'll be able to explain everything properly over text...**

**Kaede A: Would it be alright if I came over tomorrow? I feel like I'll be able to organize my thoughts and think through things clearly if I do this in person.**

**Shuichi S: Yeah, of course.**

**Shuichi S: When's your last class?**

**Kaede A: At 3:15.**

**Kaede A: It's the weekly seminar.**

Shuichi hummed as he read Kaede's text.

_Come to think of it, I haven't really looked at my schedule properly,_ he thought to himself.

He exited out of the messaging app and he went into his notes app, looking at the schedule that he had copied and pasted into the note. He looked at his schedule for tomorrow and saw that he also had his weekly seminar the same time Kaede did. He went back into the messaging app and he typed out a text to her.

**Shuichi S: By any chance, is the seminar being held in the art building? Room 201?**

**Kaede A: It is! Why???**

**Shuichi S: Because I also have that seminar.**

**Kaede A: Cool! We're in the same seminar class!**

**Kaede A: Then, we can just head straight to your dorm after the seminar is over!**

**Shuichi S: Yeah, we can do that.**

**Kaede A: Well, I'm going to go now. Gotta go do some laundry.**

**Shuichi S: Alright.**

**Kaede A: Okay~! Bye, Shuichi! I'll see you tomorrow!**

**Shuichi S: Yeah, see you then.**

Shuichi sighed as he exited out of the app and locked his phone.

"This is too crazy...not only do I have to deal with Ouma-kun's crazy antics, now there's Kaede's situation..." he murmured.

He stood up from the floor as his mind began to wander. He thought back to when Ouma was teasing him in the hallway, trying to get him to do what he wanted him to do.

_If you had just given in, how far do you think he would've gone?_  the voice in the back of his mind asked.

_You should've just let him suck you off. I mean, there's no harm in that, is there?_  another voice chimed in.

He then imagined Ouma dropping down onto his knees before him, taking his hardened length into his mouth and bringing his mouth up and down until—

Shuichi's cheeks turned crimson once he realized what he was thinking about.

_Oh my god, Shuichi, can you not think like that?! Stop fantasizing about Ouma-kun!_ he mentally scolded himself.

He let out a loud groan, reaching up to smack his cheeks.

"Okay, you know what? I had a pretty crazy day today. I'm going to go take a shower, eat dinner, and then go to sleep early." he removed his hands from his cheeks. "Yeah, I should go do that." he told himself as he headed over to his dresser, pulled out a pair of pajamas, and he headed into the bathroom.

* * *

Shuichi looked at his schedule as he maneuvered through the crowd in the English building the next day. 

"Classroom 450..." he murmured as he disappeared into a stairwell and began to climb up the stairs to the fourth floor.

_Geez, is it always going to be this crazy at ten thirty in the morning?_  he asked himself as he arrived on the fourth floor.

He pushed the door open and stepped into the hallway.

"Now..." Shuichi looked at the sign posted on the wall. "Seeing that rooms 425 to 460 are on the right side of the building, I should turn right." he muttered as he turned right and walked down the hall.

As he headed down the hall, he began to think about what his classes would be like.

_I wonder how my classes are going to be...will my professors be nice? Are my classmates going to be nice? How hard will the material be? Ah, I hope I'll be able to survive the year,_ he thought to himself.

He approached the classroom and he opened the door, seeing that five other students were already there. A couple of them watched as Shuichi made his way over to the empty desk in the middle of the third row.

Shuichi sighed as he reached into his backpack and he began to pull out his materials.

_Okay...so, for this class, I was told that we needed a binder, some pens, highlighters..._ he trailed off in his thoughts as he pulled out a black one inch binder.

As he set the binder down on the desk, he felt cool air hit the nape of his neck. He let out a surprised yelp, his hand flying up to cover his neck.

"What the...?!" he said as he turned to see where the cool air came from.

He blinked, seeing a familiar purple haired male sitting in the seat behind him, elbows propped up on the desk and face resting in his hands. His eyes widened in surprise.

"Ou-Ouma-kun?!" he exclaimed in shock.

"Nishishi~! Hi, Saihara-chan!" Ouma chirped in response.

"What are you doing here?" Shuichi asked.

"Hm? I'm also taking this class." Ouma pointed out.

Shuichi arched a brow in confusion.

"You are?" he questioned.

"Well, yeah." Ouma replied.

"But...I heard from Kaito that you're a theater major?" he questioned.

"Who knows, I might've lied when I told him that." Ouma said.

"I highly doubt you would lie about your own major, Ouma-kun." Shuichi pointed out.

"And if I am?" Ouma asked.

Shuichi sighed.

"Can you please tell me the truth?" he asked.

"Only if you agree to have sex with me." Ouma replied.

"What?!" Shuichi's knee banged against the bottom of the desk, cheeks flushing red. "N-No!" he exclaimed.

Ouma giggled.

"You're extremely adorable when you blush." he reached to twirl some hair around his finger. "Anyway, since you reeeeeeeeally want to know so badly, I am a theater major. I am also minoring in creative writing." Ouma explained.

"Is that so..." Shuichi trailed off.

"Yup! And that ain't a lie! It's the truth!" he watched how Shuichi's eyed him warily. "I mean it!" he said.

"Are you sure?" Shuichi asked.

"Of course, of course." he then looked at Shuichi's binder. "Do you have your schedule on you?" he asked.

"I do. It's on my phone." Shuichi replied.

"Can I see it? I want to compare schedules." Ouma said.

Shuichi shrugged.

"Okay, sure..." he trailed off as he went into his notes app and he pulled up the schedule, handing the phone to Ouma.

"Thank you~" Ouma chirped in response as he reached out to take the phone from him.

As he took his phone, their fingers brushed. Shuichi's heart jumped at the way Ouma's fingertips danced along his fingers as his phone was taken out of his hand.

_Goddammit, Shuichi, why the hell are you reacting over every little thing he does to you?! You're not even attracted to him in the way he wants you to be attracted to him,_ he scolded himself.

He swallowed, watching how Ouma's eyes focused on his phone as he scrolled through it.

_But...I can't deny that I do feel something. It's just not sexual or romantic. Maybe it's curiosity?_ he wondered to himself.

He noted how Ouma's tongue darted out to lick his bottom lip in a sensual fashion. He found himself thinking that he wanted to be the one running his tongue along Ouma's bottom lip, sliding his tongue in and listening to Ouma moan as he brought him closer towards him—

Shuichi's cheeks turned beet red once he realized where his thoughts were wandering.

_Oh my god, NO! Stop, stop, just stop! What the hell is wrong with you?!_ he asked himself as Ouma looked up from his phone.

"It seems like we've got two classes together beside this one: the seminar and the—" Ouma stopped, noticing how red Shuichi's cheeks were. "Hm? Saihara-chan, why is your face so red?" he asked.

Shuichi could feel his heart pounding against his rib cage as Ouma leaned in towards him, watching him curiously. He was so close that Shuichi could smell the lavender vanilla shampoo in his hair and the spearmint in the gum he was chewing. Ouma's tongue darted out again to run along his bottom lip, causing Shuichi's blush to darken as a sly smirk crossed Ouma's lips.

"Oh, I see now." his eyes twinkled with an expression that Shuichi couldn't quite pinpoint. "You were having dirty thoughts about me, weren't you?" he asked.

"Wha—?!" Shuichi's heart raced faster as Ouma giggled.

"Nishishi~" Ouma grinned at him. "Ooooooooh...poor, innocent little Saihara-chan isn't as innocent as he claims he is!" he teased.

"Th-That's not it! I..." Shuichi trailed off, watching as the grin on Ouma's face got bigger.

"Oh, there's no need to be shy, Saihara-chan. If you want," he leaned in to whisper into Shuichi's ear, "I'm more than willing to get down and dirty with you if you're that desperate." he said in a low whisper.

"Like I said, that's not it at all!" Shuichi complained as he pushed himself away from Ouma, causing the shorter male to giggle.

He sighed, turning his head in hopes of willing the blush away from his cheeks.

"So? What were you trying to say before?" he asked.

"Oh, that. I was saying that we have two other classes together beside this one, which are the seminar on Thursdays and the psych lecture on Mondays and Wednesdays." Ouma explained.

"Eh? You're also taking psychology?" Shuichi questioned, turning to look at him in surprise.

"Yup~! I am totes interested in psychology and stuff. Actually, I'm considering minoring in it!" Ouma chirped in response.

Shuichi narrowed his eyes at him.

"But you just said you were minoring in creative writing...is that also a lie, Ouma-kun?" he asked.

Ouma shrugged.

"Who knows~" he replied as their professor walked into the classroom.

Ouma looked over at the professor and then back at Shuichi.

"Now, Saihara-chan, I know that I'm insanely sexy, but your intense staring is making me feel all hot and bothered!" Ouma began to fan himself. "I suggest you turn around and focus on the professor before I lose my mind~!" he exclaimed.

"Guh...!" Shuichi wanted to retort, but decided that he wouldn't gain anything by doing so as he turned around to face the front.

He heard Ouma let out a 'nishishi' from behind as the class started.

* * *

After Shuichi bought a smoothie from the smoothie shop on campus, he had begun to make his way over to the art building on the other side of campus for the seminar. 

He brought the straw to his mouth, sucking up some of the smoothie.

_Why the hell does this seminar have to be on the other side of campus? Couldn't it be any closer?_ he asked himself.

He turned the corner, seeing a brick mansion building off to the side by the gym. He arched a brow in confusion.

"What in the world...?" he muttered under his breath.

_Okay, I've seen buildings that don't seem like they belong on a college campus before, but a mansion? Why is there a mansion on campus?_ he asked himself.

As he got closer to the mansion, he saw a sign that read Art Building.

_Art building...wait a minute, this is the art building?!_ he gawked up at the mansion in surprise, straw falling from his mouth.

He looked at the map he pulled up on his phone, looking at where the red dot was. He then looked back up at the mansion.

"Well...I guess this might be it, then..." he murmured as he made his way up to the front porch of the mansion. He opened the door and stepped inside.

"What the—" he gaped upon seeing the interior of the mansion.

_This is crazy...totally crazy!_ he thought to himself as he headed over to the staircase and he made his way up to the second floor.

He turned left after reading the sign on the wall and he headed down the hall towards the end, where he spotted an open door.

_That must be it,_ he thought to himself as he approached the door.

"Um...hello?" he poked his head inside. "Is this where the seminar is being held?" he called out.

"Indeed, it is!" a chirpy voice replied.

Shuichi stepped back in surprise as a dark-skinned girl with white hair pulled into twin ponytails came into view, round blue eyes staring up at him. She had on a navy blue v-neck crop top that had a white stripe in the center and two smaller red stripes above and below the white stripe with a yellow raincoat over it, faded jean cutoffs, and white Converse.

"Um...hello..." he trailed off.

"Hi, hi!" she reached out and placed a flower crown atop his head. "Atua welcomes you in with open arms!" she declared before turning around and running off, the yellow raincoat that she had on fluttering around her.

Shuichi watched her, reaching up to touch the flower crown on his head.

_What in the actual world,_ he thought to himself as he heard a voice call out to him.

"Shuichi!" 

He turned to see Kaede waving him over to a table by the window, where Kaito and Maki were also seated. Maki turned, nodding her head in acknowledgment as Kaito grinned.

"Yo, Shuichi! Hurry up and get over here!" he called out.

"I'm coming!" he responded as he made his way over to the table. 

He sat down in the seat between Kaito and Kaede as Kaito spoke.

"I had no idea you also had this seminar!" he exclaimed.

Shuichi chuckled.

"I only realized that I had this seminar as I was texting Kaede last night." he explained.

"Oh, I see." Kaito said.

"You guys were texting?" Maki narrowed her eyes. "What were you two talking about?" she asked.

Shuichi looked over at Kaede, who looked like she was mentally panicking over what to say to her.

"Um..." he watched how Maki's brow arched as she looked at him. "Well—" he trailed off, noticing how Kaede visibly stiffened next to him.

He followed her gaze to the door and saw that Rantaro had entered the room, navy blue backpack slung over his shoulder. The same girl from before ran up to him, dropping a flower crown on his head. Rantaro chuckled as she ran off, looking up to observe the room. His eyes landed on Kaede, the smile on his lips slipping off of his face.

Shuichi watched as Kaede quickly grabbed for the notebook before her and she opened it, pretending that she was reading something off of it. He then noticed the way some of the complexion she had on was smudged a little, revealing a mark on her neck.

_That must be one of the hickies she mentioned over text last night..._ he thought to himself.

Maki narrowed her eyes, turning in her seat to look at Rantaro.

"What, did you two have a fight or something? He looks like a kicked puppy." she commented.

"Um...well..." Kaede's fingers curled around the notebook. "We didn't necessarily get into a fight..." she trailed off.

"So, it has something to do with him, then." she then redirected her attention to Shuichi. "Well? Seeing as Kaede doesn't want to tell me herself, it seems like you'll have to do the talking." she said.

"Uh...Well..." he trailed off, glancing over at Rantaro.

He noticed the way his lips were pulled into a frown, eyebrows knitted as he stared at Kaede with a dejected look in his eyes. The look quickly vanished as he was tackled from behind, arms wrapping around his torso. Shuichi watched as Rantaro turned to greet the person that hugged him from behind, who turned out to be Ouma. Shuichi arched a brow at this.

_Ouma-kun knows Amami-kun, as well?_ he asked himself.

The girl from before raced over to Ouma with a flower crown in her hands. Ouma was quick to deny her offer as he took Rantaro's hand and tugged him over to a nearby table. 

Shuichi watched as Ouma and Rantaro sat down at a table close to the door. They chatted as the girl came back around and dropped the flower crown on Ouma's head before rushing off. Rantaro laughed, pulling out his phone and taking a picture of Ouma, who was pouting.

Shuichi couldn't help but note how the flower crown that was made out of purple lilies looked really cute atop his head. It made him look more innocent than he usually was. His heart stirred at the way Ouma laughed at something that Rantaro had said.

"...Oi, Shuichi." Maki's stern voice snapped him out of whatever trance he was stuck in. "The hell are you looking at so intensely that you're tuning me out?" she asked.

"Ah! I..." he quickly looked away from Ouma and back at Maki. "I'm sorry..." he trailed off.

Maki glowered at him, turning to see what it was that could've possibly caught his attention. Once her eyes landed on Ouma, her expression turned threatening.

"Do you want to fucking die or something? The fuck you looking at that annoying gremlin for?" she bit out.

"Oh god, Ouma's in this class, too?!" Kaito complained.

Maki groaned.

"This year is going to be a nightmare, as well..." she mumbled as other students filed into the room.

Among them was a woman with long lavender hair and purple eyes. Shuichi couldn't help but stare, silently noting that he had seen her somewhere before.

_Where exactly was it, though..._ he wondered to himself.

As he watched her reach a gloved hand up to brush some hair over her shoulder, it clicked. Shuichi's eyes widened upon realization.

"No way..." he trailed off.

"What? What is it?" Kaede looked over at Shuichi. "Do you know her?" she asked.

"I...I believe so." he said as she cleared her throat.

"Everyone, please take your seats. The seminar is about to begin." she called out.

Everyone made their way over to their seats as the woman began taking things out from her bag and resting them on a desk in the corner. Shuichi spotted Keebo and Iruma, who had both chosen to sit at Ouma and Rantaro's table. He furrowed his brows as he watched the four of them interact.

_Okay, so all four of them know each other somehow. That's interesting,_ he thought to himself.

He quickly looked away before Ouma could catch him staring as the woman spoke.

"So, welcome to the weekly seminar. I am your seminar leader, Kyouko Kirigiri." she introduced.

Shuichi's elbow fell off the table upon hearing her name.

_I knew it! It's her! It's Kirigiri Kyouko!_ he thought to himself.

"Kyouko Kirigiri? Isn't she that famous detective?" Maki asked.

"Yeah! In other words, she's the one that Shuichi worships." Kaito said, nudging Shuichi teasingly.

"I...I don't worship her! I just aspire to be like her, that's all..." Shuichi trailed off.

"I beg to differ." Kaito commented as Kyouko continued.

"So, we're going to introduce ourselves to one another. You are going to give us your name, age, major, and one fact about yourself." Kyouko moved to sit at the desk, propping her elbows up and lacing her fingers together. "So, who would like to go first?" she asked, resting her chin atop her laced fingers.

"Oh, I would like to go first!" a girl with dark brown hair pulled back into two loose ponytails raised her hand.

"Okay, go ahead." Kyouko said.

"Alright!" the girl stood up from her seat. "So, I'm Tenko Chabashira! I am nineteen and a counseling major. One fact about me is that I do aikido!" she declared.

Everyone applauded as Kyouko spoke.

"Thank you very much, Chabashira-san. Now, let's hear from the next person." she said.

"Okay!" Tenko dropped back down into her seat and nudged the sleepy redhead beside her. "It's your turn now, Yumeno-san!" she declared.

"Nyeh...fine..." Yumeno mumbled before standing up, smoothing out her skirt and reaching up to tug on her hair.

One by one, everyone began to introduce themselves. Eventually, it was Shuichi's turn.

"U-Um!" Shuichi quickly stood up. "I'm Shuichi Saihara! I'm eighteen and a criminology major. I am also minoring in psychology. A fact about me is that I studied in Oxford for my freshman year before transferring over here." he said.

He heard some people begin to whisper among themselves as Kyouko looked at him.

"Shuichi Saihara?" she arched a brow. "I know you. Aren't you that up-and-coming junior detective?" she asked.

"Uh...yeah..." Shuichi trailed off.

"I heard about how you managed to solve that case in Oxford. You did a pretty good job." she commented.

"Ah...well, thanks..." Shuichi trailed off as he moved to sit down.

He reached to take a drink from his smoothie as Kaede nudged him.

"You got complimented by your idol~" she said.

"I don't idolize her..." Shuichi mumbled against his straw as Kaito stood up from his seat.

"Yo! My name is Kaito Momota! I'm currently eighteen and I am an astronomy major. A fact about me is that I have been to the NASA Space Station before!" he declared.

"Heh, Momota-chan's actually been out of the country before?" Ouma began to play with one of the flowers in the flower crown he still had on. "I highly doubt that." he drawled out.

Kaito's eyebrow twitched as he glared at Ouma.

"Why you little...Of course I went there before!" he barked out.

"Ah, Kaito!" Shuichi grabbed for Kaito's arm, yanking him back down into his seat. "Can you not try to pick a fight with Ouma-kun?!" he hissed.

"Are you being for real right now?! Are you actually defending that little shit?!" Kaito asked.

"I never said I was defending him! I'm only stopping you from disrupting the class anymore than you already are!" Shuichi pointed out.

"Hmph!" Tenko crossed her arms over her chest, eyes narrowed at Kaito. "Typical behavior of a degenerate male." she sneered as she turned away.

Kyouko sighed.

"Okay, whatever. Let's move on to the next introduction before things decide they want to get ugly." Kyouko said.

The introductions resumed, some of the other students introducing themselves to everyone. Finally, it was Ouma's turn. Shuichi swallowed, watching as Ouma stood up from his seat and tucked a strand of hair behind his ear.

_Oh god. Is he going to lie during his introduction?_ he asked himself as Ouma began to speak.

"Hello~! The name's Kokichi Ouma and I am twenty—" he was cut off by Iruma.

"No, the hell you aren't!" she reached out and jabbed him in the side. "Stop lying, you little shit!" she snapped.

"Being called a little shit is sooooooooo mean, you ugly whore!" Ouma jeered as he reached up and pulled down on his bottom eyelid, sticking his tongue out at her childishly.

"Can't you two stop bantering for once?!" Keebo complained.

"Now, now, all of you settle down." Rantaro looked over at Kyouko. "I'm sorry that they're causing such a ruckus." he said.

Kyouko nodded her head in acknowledgment as Rantaro looked back at them.

"Now, can you please go through the introduction without lying at least once, Kokichi?" he asked.

Shuichi's eyebrow quirked at how Rantaro casually called Ouma by his first name.

_Those two must go way back if Amami-kun and Ouma-kun are on first name basis,_ he thought to himself as Ouma breathed out an exasperated sigh.

"Okay, okay, fiiiiiiiiiiine." Ouma cleared his throat. "So, I'm Kokichi Ouma and I am nineteen! I am a theater major and am also currently minoring in creative writing. A fact about myself is that I used to be the leader of a gang that consisted of ten thousand members~!" he chirped.

"Eh?! Ouma-kun used to be leader of gang?! Gonta think that cool." Gonta, another one of the students who had introduced themselves before, exclaimed.

"Well, of course it's cool! That's because I was the leader. If the leader were someone boring like the little piglet next to me, then that wouldn't be cool." Ouma stated.

Iruma whined as she began squirming about in her seat. Keebo proceeded to tell her to stop as Ouma sat down, wide grin on his face.

Kyouko cleared her throat.

"Well, that should be it for introductions. Now, I'm going to go over what this seminar is all about and then we're going to move into playing Never Have I Ever." she said.

She stood from her desk.

"Now, I would put up a power point and click through it, but someone ended up spilling orange juice all over it and I have to get a new laptop. So, I'm just going to explain everything without it." she tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "The class is called a weekly seminar, but it's not really a seminar in terms of what we do. We have days where we just play games, days where we have study sessions, and even days where if anyone feels like they need to vent about something, then they can do so during this time. In other words, it's almost like a friend group that meets up once a week to do things. We'll be doing the things that I mentioned along with other events such as parties and a couple mini field trips here and there." Kyouko explained.

"Field trips?!" Tenko exclaimed, eyes sparkling with delight.

"Nyeh...that sounds like fun..." Yumeno murmured tiredly.

"So, use this class as an opportunity to make friends and form bonds with one another." Kyouko looked over at the clock hanging on the wall. "I would go into more depth with some of the other things, but that'll have to wait until next time. Let's move on to Never Have I Ever. You guys are familiar with this game, yes?" she asked.

Everyone nodded and replied accordingly.

"Alright, so everyone has played it at some point. Put up ten fingers and we're going to go around the room. I'll go first." Kyouko moved to sit on top of the desk, crossing her legs. "Never have I ever been to the States." she said.

"Aw, damn it!" Kaito complained as he lowered one of his fingers.

Shuichi watched as a couple of other students lowered their fingers.

"Okay, Chabashira-san will go next." Kyouko said.

"Alright! So, never have I ever gone swimming!" Tenko declared.

"That's cuz you don't even know how to swim, Tenko..." Yumeno mumbled as she lowered a finger.

"Yu-Yumeno-san! You don't have to say it out loud for the whole world to hear it!" Tenko exclaimed.

Shuichi laughed nervously as he lowered a finger.

"Chabashira-san's pretty energetic, isn't she?" he asked.

"She sure is!" Kaede replied as she lowered a finger.

"Now, it's Yumeno-san's turn." Kyouko said.

"For real...? Okay, fine. Never have I ever pulled an all-nighter." she said.

"Ugh..." Shuichi mumbled as he lowered another finger. 

"Don't worry, you're not alone, Shuichi!" Kaito declared as he lowered his finger.

"Let's face it, I'm pretty sure almost everyone here has pulled an all-nighter at some point." Maki pointed out.

"I mean, unless you're either Yumeno-san, Yonaga-san or Gonta-kun." Kaede pointed out.

Shuichi nodded in agreement (he honestly didn't remember who Yonaga-san was and he was too lazy to ask) as another student with long blue hair and blue eyes behind glasses began to state what she had never done.

The game continued smoothly, everyone listing things that they had never done. Kaito had gotten out after the first round and a guy named Ryoma and a girl named Tsumugi were also out once the second round started.

It finally got right back around to Ouma, who had a devilish grin spread across his face.

"Hm...what is it that I have never done...?" he trailed off, reaching up to tap a finger against his chin.

He looked around the room in hopes of finding something that would help him make his decision. That was when he locked eyes with Shuichi. He swallowed, feeling Ouma's intense gaze on him.

_Why is he staring at me so intensely? Just what is it that he's thinking about?_ he asked himself.

He then watched as a sly smile danced along his lips, propping his elbow up on the table and pressing his cheek against his hand.

"Ah...never have I ever thought about making out with someone in the middle of the hall." he said, sending a wink in Shuichi's direction.

Shuichi couldn't help the blush that began to creep up towards his cheeks as everyone erupted in loud murmurs.

"What the hell?! I could've sworn that you had thought that at some point!" Iruma exclaimed.

"You must be drunk if that's what you seriously think, you annoying slut." Ouma reached up to twirl some hair around his finger. "Only every guy that's come to me to have their sexual desires fulfilled have thought about that." he pointed out.

Iruma snorted.

"I still find that very hard to—" she stopped upon seeing Keebo lower one of his fingers. "Keebo, are you serious?! You really thought of something like that at some point?!" she exclaimed as she leaned across the table towards Keebo.

"S..." Keebo's cheeks flushed red. "So what if I did?!" he exclaimed.

"Ooooooooooh! Who's the lucky person?! Who are they?!" she asked as she leaned in closer, their faces inches away from one another.

"Like I'm going to tell you!" Keebo stated defiantly as the blush proceeded to spread up to his ears.

Shuichi's cheeks burned as he thought back to when he had that brief fantasy yesterday evening of shoving Ouma against the wall as he kissed him roughly.

_Did he do that because I have only one finger left?! Or is it something else?_ he asked himself.

He looked at Ouma, noticing how he was watching him expectantly. Ouma grinned as he opened his mouth.

"Put your finger down. I know you've done it before, considering that I was there when it happened." he mouthed out.

Shuichi bit his lip as he continued to look at Ouma. This caused the shorter male to arch a brow, tilting his head a little to the side.

"Unless you want me to tell everyone that you fantasized about kissing me last night?" Ouma mouthed out again.

"Wha...?!" Shuichi sputtered out, blush turning a deeper shade of red.

He breathed out a defeated sigh before lowering his last finger.

"I'm out now." he said, grabbing for his nearly finished smoothie.

"What?! You're out?!" Kaede exclaimed in surprise.

"Don't tell me that you've also fantasized about those kinds of things, too..." Kaito trailed off.

"M...Maybe I have! It's just that I don't wanna mention it." Shuichi replied as he took a long sip from his smoothie.

As he finished off his smoothie, he watched Ouma giggle behind his hand.

_I find he's having way too much fun messing with me,_ he thought to himself as Kyouko proceeded to calm the class down and resume the game.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm screaming; this chapter is also extremely long wth  
> I also dub this chapter "The chapter where Shuichi is acting like a very confused gay boy"
> 
> Additional vocab:  
> -Pink text bubble: So, I actually use the TextingStory app to actually type up the text conversations and I made Kaede's text bubbles pink. I had it so that the characters could customize background, text bubble color, and other things on their phones.  
> -Weekly seminar: I had a weekly seminar kind of like this during freshman year, but we actually did things and had very few assignments rather than play games and do fun things all the time (that class was also where I met my best friend, so there's that)
> 
> *Follow me on Tumblr @kawaiikichi for story previews, updates/notices, and other fanfic-related things!*  
> **I am also beginning to post relationship charts for some of the more major characters (some of the descriptions contain things that may or may not covered in later chapters so I guess they're kinda like spoilers???), so there's that if you wanna check them out on my Tumblr!**  
> Link: http://kawaiikichi.tumblr.com/


	5. Shit Happens

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kaede and Shuichi talk.  
> The morning after the frat party is explored in more detail.  
> Kokichi Ouma's a little too popular...?  
> Shuichi comes across a very interesting conversation between three certain people...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, this chapter is literally called Shit Happens (I couldn't come up with anything else; I'm sorry).
> 
> Also: *proceeds to repeatedly bow* I am so, so sorry that I left you all hanging for two months like that! Life is such a pain in the ass sometimes that I can't even. I was also doing Kuroken Week and then this chapter became extremely difficult to write, so I took a small break from it and did some requests on Tumblr and before I knew it, it had been two months since I had updated. *continues bowing* Please forgive me.
> 
> So, with that, here's the next chapter!

In the end, Toujou Kirumi, a hospitality management major, wound up winning the game with three fingers remaining and Ouma coming in second.

As soon as the game wrapped up, Kyouko dismissed them and everyone filed out of the room.

Shuichi grabbed his bag and he headed out of the room, where Kaede and the others were waiting for him.

"There you are!" Shuichi fell into step next to Kaede. "So, are we ready to head over to your place?" she asked.

"Ah, yeah." Shuichi replied.

"Whoa, hold up. You're going by Shuichi's place?" Kaito asked.

"Yeah." Kaede replied.

"You're going by him?" Maki arched a brow at this. "You never told me this." she said.

Kaede laughed nervously.

"Sorry..." they exited the art building and began heading back in the direction of the dorms. "It kinda slipped from my mind...?" she answered uncertainly.

Maki sighed.

"Geez..." she trailed off.

"So? What are you guys going to do now?" Shuichi asked, looking over at Kaito and Maki.

"I'm probs going to take a nap." Kaito said.

"And I have an assignment to work on." Maki said.

"Already?" Shuichi asked, blinking his eyes twice in surprise.

"Yeah. It's for my English class." Maki tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear. "I can already tell that my English professor is going to be a total bitch." she stated.

"Ouch. That's gotta suck." Kaito commented.

"Of course it sucks." Maki said as they stopped in front of the main plaza, where a large statue of the university's president stood surrounded by flowers.

"Well, Canary Hall's this way, so it looks like we're going separate ways." Kaito said.

"Alright. Well, I'll see you two tomorrow." Shuichi said.

"Yeah! See you tomorrow, bro! And you too, Kaede!" Kaito declared.

"Alright! See you tomorrow, Kaito!" she then recalled something as Kaito and Maki began to walk off in the direction of Canary Hall. "Ah! Maki!" she called out.

"Yes?" she answered, turning to look at her.

"Could you possibly order takeout tonight? I kinda don't feel like rushing to the grocery store to pick up things to cook and seeing as you have homework to do, you won't have time to go grocery shopping, either." she requested.

Maki nodded.

"Alright. Should I order the usual?" she asked.

"Yeah!" Kaede waved. "See you later!" she called out before following Shuichi in the direction of Phoenix Hall.

She fell into step beside him, grabbing at the straps of her white backpack as Shuichi spoke.

"You and Maki are roommates?" he asked.

"Yup! We roomed together last year and decided to do it again this year." Kaede explained.

"I see..." Shuichi trailed off.

A few minutes, they arrived at the Phoenix Hall. He scanned his card and he opened the door, which was now unlocked. They stepped into the lobby and Shuichi waved at the girl behind the desk. Kaede nodded her head in acknowledgment, a smile on her face as they approached the elevators. 

"It looks nicer than I thought it would." she commented.

"Eh? What do you mean?" Shuichi asked as one of the elevators slid open.

They stepped into the elevator and he pressed the number four.

"Well, it's just that the building doesn't really look all that special. So, seeing that the inside looked nicer than the outside surprised me." she explained.

"Really?" Shuichi blinked his eyes twice in confusion. "I never noticed." he stated.

"I should bring you by Canary Hall sometime. Then, you'll see what I mean." she said.

"Alright, if you insist." Shuichi said as the elevator arrived on the fourth floor.

They stepped out and Shuichi led her down the hall to his room.

"So? Are the people on your floor nice to you?" she asked.

"I'd like to think so, yeah. Keebo-kun and Iruma-san live on this floor, as well." he explained, choosing to leave out the fact that Ouma also lived on his floor (and that he lived in the room across from his, at that).

God knows how Kaede would react if she found out...

"They do?! Well, that's nice!" she gushed excitedly as they stopped in front of his room. He unlocked the door and they stepped inside.

"So, this is my room." Shuichi said, flicking on the lights as he closed the door behind them.

"Wow, it's super spacious." Kaede looked around the room. "So, should I assume that you have your own bathroom, as well?" she asked.

"No. I share a bathroom with the guy next door." Shuichi explained.

"Is that so..." she trailed off.

Shuichi slipped off his shoes and he made his way into the kitchen.

"Do you want anything to drink? I have water and lemonade." he said.

"Ah, just water is fine." she said as he she made her way over to his bed, sitting down on it.

She rested her bag down next to her on the bed as Shuichi walked over to her with two bottles of water in his hand.

"Here." he said, handing her the bottle.

"Ah, thanks." she said, taking the bottle from him as he sat down beside her.

He cracked open his bottle, taking a sip from it as he looked at her.

"So...about what happened between you and Amami-kun..." he trailed off.

"Ah, that..." Kaede glanced down at her unopened water bottle. "To be honest, it's still kind of hard for me to wrap my head around what happened..." she trailed off.

"It's okay. You can take your time explaining it to me." Shuichi said.

She smiled at him.

"Thanks..." she reached to open the bottle. "Well...I already told you about the state I was in when I woke up, so maybe I should start with what happened after I made sense of my situation." she said.

"You can start from anywhere you like." Shuichi told her.

She brought the opened bottle to her lips, letting the cold water slide down her throat. She sighed against the mouth of the water bottle.

"Alright...so, after I had pieced everything together, I put on my clothes and headed downstairs in search of Amami-kun..." she began explaining everything to him as the memory replayed in her mind.

* * *

 

_After slipping back on her mauve-colored sweater and white skirt, Kaede made her way out of Rantaro's room and began to head down the hall._

_As she made her way down the hall, she caught her reflection in one of the mirrors in one of the many bathrooms, the door slightly ajar._

_Her hair was a tangled mess, her eighth note hair clip missing. Her lips were bruised, presumably from a rough makeout session, and her neck was littered with as many hickies as the ones on her chest and along her shoulders._

_"Oh my god, I look like a mess..." she reached up to run a hand along a trail of hickies. "I'm going to have to stop by the convenience store before I go back and buy some foundation. I can't have Maki seeing these..." she mumbled under her breath._

_She reached up to comb her fingers through her hair, gently untangling the knots that had begun to form in her hair._

_As she ran her fingers through her hair for the fourth time, she smelled apples and cinnamon coming from the kitchen on the second floor. Her stomach rumbled as she looked down at the end of the hall._

_I'm hungry...maybe that's Amami-kun up there making breakfast, she thought to herself._

_She looked away from her reflection and she headed over to the staircase, making her way up the stairs to the kitchen. Once she reached the top, she was taken aback by how messy the second floor was. The floor was littered with streamers, toilet paper, and empty Solo cups._

_Whoa! This place is a mess, she thought to herself._

_She maneuvered her way through the mess as the kitchen came into view. The smell of apples and cinnamon got stronger as she stepped over an empty Heineken bottle. She then spotted Rantaro, who had his back to her as he stood by the stove._

_She swallowed as she saw that he was shirtless, instantly recalling small bits and pieces of what happened last night. She remembered being pressed up against the wall, lips locked in a heated kiss, hands sliding under her sweater as she fell backwards onto the bed, and Rantaro pulling his shirt over his head and throwing it off to the side._

_"Kaede..." her cheeks turned red as she remembered how Rantaro called her name in a low, husky voice._

_She watched him slide a pancake into a plate from the pan as he spotted her out of the corner of his eye._

_"Ah..." he turned, pan in hand as a small smile touched his lips. "Morning." he greeted._

_"Mo-Morning..." she stammered out, lowering her gaze to the counter top._

_She played with the sleeve of her sweater as Rantaro spoke._

_"I made breakfast for you." he said._

_"Oh...I see..." she trailed off._

_She looked back at him, watching as he placed a couple of pancakes onto a plate. He then looked over at her._

_"Go ahead. Sit." he said, motioning to the stool by the bar top._

_"Ah...okay..." she trailed off as she made her way over to the stool, taking a seat as Rantaro cut into an omelette that he had made and placed half into the plate with the pancakes. He then grabbed for a knife and fork._

_"Here. I made apple cinnamon pancakes and a bacon, cheese, and chive omelette." he placed the plate of food, fork, and knife down on the counter before her. "Do you want me to make you anything to drink?" he asked._

_"Um...some tea would be nice..." she trailed off._

_"Alright. I'll make that for you, then." he said before moving to get the tea out from the pantry._

_Kaede sighed as she reached for her knife and fork and she cut into the pancakes. As she ate, she couldn't help but follow Rantaro around the kitchen with her eyes. She observed the way his muscles would flex with every movement he made, from taking a mug out from the cabinet to opening the fridge._

_Her eyes then caught on the thin, red marks along his back that resembled scratches._

_Scratches...? she wondered to herself._

_Another memory then came to her as she swallowed a piece of her omelette. She remembered clawing at his back, letting his name fall from her lips. The blush returned to her cheeks as she watched him._

_Now that I think about it...shouldn't we try to talk about what happened last night? I mean, we slept together, for goodness sake! We can't just go about our lives acting like it never happened, she thought to herself._

_She finished off her pancakes, setting her fork and knife down._

_"Um...Amami-kun?" she called out hesitantly._

_"Yes?" he replied as he proceeded to add sugar to her tea._

_"Um...so, about last night...did we actually...you know...sleep together?" she asked._

_He stopped stirring, an uneasy silence falling among them. She observed him curiously, wondering if it was something that he really had to think about._

_Was it bad timing? Should I have not asked him right now, she asked herself._

_She then shook her head._

_No, no, this is the perfect time to bring it up! Better to discuss it sooner than later, she told herself._

_"Oh...about that—" she immediately cut him off._

_"And please don't lie to me. There is evidence that we did sleep together on both of our bodies." she said._

_She listened as Rantaro released a sigh._

_"...Okay, I won't lie." he resumed stirring. "We did indeed sleep together last night." he said._

_"I see..." she trailed off._

_"Doesn't it bother you?" he asked._

_"Hm?" she answered._

_"I slept with you. We had sex while intoxicated. Doesn't it bother you in the slightest?" he asked._

_"Well..." she trailed off._

_He finished preparing her tea moments later. He screwed the cap back onto the milk bottle as a small chuckle escaped his lips._

_"Well, either way, I don't regret it." he picked up the mug. "That is, I don't regret sleeping with you." he said._

_Kaede's eyebrows quirked up at Rantaro's statement._

_Just what was that supposed to mean?_

_She tried to find the answer to said question as he placed the mug before her. She muttered a small "thank you" as she reached for the mug and took a sip from it. As she drank from her tea, she glanced at him._

_"Why?" she asked._

_"Why what?" Rantaro answered._

_"You know what I mean." she said._

_"I actually don't. Would you care to elaborate?" he asked as he pressed his back against the counter top._

_She looked down at the tea in her mug, watching her reflection in it._

_"You could've slept with anyone last night. Yet, you chose me." she looked at him. "Why? Why did you sleep with me? Why did you say that you don't regret what you did? Are you trying to say that you've been meaning to sleep with me to begin with?" she asked._

_It was silent between them for what felt like hours. Rantaro stared, an unreadable look spreading across his face. It almost looked like he were carefully choosing his next words, knowing that what he was going to say next would drastically change things between them._

_Kaede swallowed, watching how he ran his tongue along his bottom lip. He crossed his arms over his chest as he looked at her._

_"Do you really want to know?" he asked._

_"Eh?" she questioned._

_"I'm asking if you really want to know." he answered._

_Kaede brought her bottom lip in between her teeth, contemplating whether or not she was ready for his answer to her question. After a couple of moments, she released her bottom lip and looked him straight in the eye._

_"Please tell me, Amami-kun. Why did you do it? Why did you not regret sleeping with me? she asked._

_It was silent between them once more. Kaede stared at him intently, determination flashing through her mauve eyes. Rantaro watched her, a hesitant look dancing around in his eyes for a split second before it vanished, opening his mouth to speak._

_"It's because I like you, Kaede." he said, her first name casually slipping off his tongue._

_Kaede blinked as she tried to process what Rantaro just said._

_He...what? she asked herself._

_She stared at him as he continued._

_"I have feelings for you. I don't remember when exactly I started feeling this way towards you, but I know that for as long as I could remember, I've been in love with you." he said._

_As soon as he finished speaking, it clicked in Kaede's mind. Rantaro was in love with her. He was fine with how things turned out because he was in love with her._

_He was in love with her and she never noticed it._

_Millions of thoughts swirled around in her mind as her head began to spin._

_He's in love with me...Rantaro is actually in love with me. How in the world did I not see the signs, she looked down at her plate of food, now that I'm thinking about it, he always did treat me better than all the other girls that he's friends with...gosh, why am I such an idiot, she wondered to herself._

_"Kaede?"_

_Her head instantly snapped up at the sound of Rantaro's voice, mauve locking on green. Her breath hitched at how close he was. If he had moved in any closer, their lips might've touched._

_Lips..._

_Her cheeks flushed red as she remembered the way he had kissed her last night. Just the thought of it made a pleasurable chill roll down her spine._

_"Kaede? Is something the matter? Your cheeks are red." he commented, pulling Kaede out of her thoughts._

_A sharp gasp escaped her lips as her cheeks reddened more._

_"I...I can't answer you right now!" she shot up from her seat and bowed. "I'm really sorry!" she said._

_She turned and began to make her way out of the kitchen, her heart pounding loudly in her ears as she left._

* * *

 

"Wait, wait, hold on a minute. He has a crush on you?!" Shuichi exclaimed in shock.

"Yeah, he does..." a small chuckle escaped Kaede's lips. "It's funny, you know. We've been friends since seventh grade and I thought I knew everything about him. Everything except for his feelings for me, apparently." she said.

"Kaede..." Shuichi trailed off.

"Now that I know how he feels about me, it just feels so awkward between us! Every time I look at him or think about him, I can't help but think back to what we did that night..." she murmured.

Shuichi watched the way her cheeks flushed pink as she played with some of her hair. He took another sip from his water bottle as she shifted a little to face him.

"What do I do, Shuichi? I know I have to give him an answer eventually, but my mind is just all over the place right now." she pointed out.

"Uh...I don't know if I'm the right person to be giving out love advice..." he trailed off.

"You're the only one who would give me a sensible answer, so please!" she reached out and took Shuichi's hand in hers. "Tell me what you think I should do!" she exclaimed.

"W-Well...if that's what you really want, then I guess I can do at least that much..." he glanced down at their clasped hands and then back at her. "What were your feelings towards him before?" he asked.

"Well..." she released his hands. "I saw him as a really close friend..." she noted.

"And now?" Shuichi asked.

"I..." she trailed off.

Shuichi observed her, watching the way her brows furrowed and how she brought her bottom lip in between her teeth. He watched as her cheeks took on a deep shade of pink.

"I don't know what to think anymore...I can't look him in the eye anymore and every time I think about him, my cheeks turn red, my heart starts fluttering, and my stomach gets filled with butterflies!" she reached to grip the hem of he skirt. "It just feels so...weird!" she exclaimed.

"I see..." Shuichi tapped his finger against his chin as he thought over the situation. "Well, I feel like you should hold off on answering him for right now." he said.

"Huh? But why?" she asked.

"You said that your thoughts are all over the place right now, right? So, I think you should wait until you organize your thoughts before giving him your answer. If you reject him now and realize you might actually be in love with him, you're going to regret it. The same thing goes for if you decide to go out with him and then realize that you don't actually like him as much as you thought you did. So, just think it over and then give him an answer." Shuichi explained.

"Hm...I guess that does make sense..." Kaede trailed off.

She smiled at him.

"Thanks, Shuichi." she said.

"Yeah, of course." he said as Kaede's phone dinged.

"Huh? I wonder who that could be..." Kaede muttered as she reached for her phone and looked at the text that flashed across the screen.

**Maki H: Oi, takeout's here. Come back and eat it cuz I know you like eating it while it's warm.**

**Kaede A: KK**

Kaede locked her phone as Shuichi looked at her.

"Who was that?" he asked.

"Ah, that was Maki. Takeout's arrived." Kaede explained.

"I see. So, you're gonna head back now?" Shuichi asked.

Kaede nodded.

"Yeah." she replied as she stood up from the bed, stretching.

"Ah, I'll walk you back to your dorm, then." Shuichi said, standing up as well.

"You will?" Kaede blinked her eyes twice before smiling. "Thank you, Shuichi." she said.

"Of course." Shuichi looked around the room. "I need to grab my keys. Wait outside my room and then we'll go together." he explained.

Kaede nodded.

"Alright! I'll be waiting for you outside, then!" she chirped before heading out of the room, closing the door behind her.

Shuichi sighed as he began looking around the room for his keys.

"I knew I put them somewhere..." he mumbled as he stepped into the kitchen.

Just then, a text came in on his phone. He frowned as he pulled his phone out of his pocket.

"Who in the world is...?" he murmured as he tapped on the text bubble, typed in his passcode, and was directed to his messaging app, where there was a text from Kaede.

**Kaede A: Quick question, does this always happen?**

Another text came in shortly after, which was a picture of multiple guys standing in a line in the hallway. Shuichi gawked at how long the line was.

"What in the...?!" he exclaimed as he typed out a reply.

**Shuichi S: This is the first time I'm seeing this! What exactly is that line for?!**

He finally found his keys, which were on the counter by the fridge. He picked them up and stuffed them into his pocket as Kaede texted him back.

**Kaede A: IDK. They're all lined up by Room 420. Is something going on over there or what?**

Shuichi's eyes widened upon seeing Room 420 being mentioned in Kaede's text.

"Oh no..." he trailed off as he rushed over to the door.

He reached for the doorknob and he opened the door. He immediately spotted Kaede, who turned to look at him.

"Ah! Shuichi!" she exclaimed.

"Kaede..." he trailed off.

He diverted his gaze away from Kaede's and he locked eyes with Ouma, who had on a white button up shirt that was unbuttoned and a pair of red and yellow striped boxer briefs. Ouma's chest and neck were littered with bite marks and hickies, his hair a ruffled mess.

Ouma glanced back and forth between Shuichi and Kaede, eyebrows furrowed and a slight frown on his face. It quickly disappeared and was replaced with a smirk.

"Oh my, would we lookie here! It's Saihara-chan!" he declared.

"Ah...Ouma-kun..." Shuichi trailed off.

"How's your evening been so far?" Ouma asked.

"Fine, I guess...? I was just getting ready to walk Kaede back to her dorm." Shuichi explained.

"I can see that. Buuuuuut, Kayayday's a big girl now, ain't she?" Ouma placed his hands on his hips. "She can walk herself back home, can't she?" he questioned in a mocking tone.

"Stop pronouncing my name weirdly! It's Kaede, not Kayayday!" Kaede snapped.

"Oh, hush it. Also, I'm not talking to you. I'm talking to Saihara-chan." he glared at Kaede for a few seconds before redirecting his gaze at Shuichi. "You know what would make your evening even better? If you slept with me." he said with a wink.

"I told you already that I'm not sleeping with you." Shuichi stated.

"Oh, come on! You can't deny that you want a piece of me. I mean, I'm so drop dead sexy that all these guys here want to fuck me and yet you don't?" Ouma let out a dramatic gasp. "My, that should be against the law!" he exclaimed.

"I've told you time and time again that I don't sleep with people I haven't gotten a chance to know well. So, of course I'm not going to sleep with you, Ouma-kun." Shuichi stated.

"Heh...weeeeeeeeell, if you're gonna play hard to get, then that's fine." Ouma turned to face the male at the front of the line. "I'll just satisfy myself with this total hottie until you come crawling to me, begging to fuck me senseless." he said before grabbing the male by his shirt and yanking him down, their lips colliding in a rough kiss.

The other guys in line let out loud hoots and hollers as Ouma intensified the kiss, tilting his head to the side to deepen it. He reached up to cup the male's cheeks and he pried the male's mouth open, shoving his tongue inside. Shuichi felt his eyebrow twitch, teeth digging into his bottom lip as he watched the scene.

Ouma moaned loudly into the kiss before pulling away, lips shining with saliva. The male picked Ouma up, Ouma's legs wrapping around the male's torso as he looked at Shuichi, eyes sparkling with mischief.

"Well, bye now! You have fun walking Miss Piano Nerd home!" he chirped before they entered the room and closed the door behind them.

The other guys standing in line began conversing with one another, commenting on how that guy was going to enjoy himself and how hot Ouma was. Shuichi's eyebrow twitched more, feeling a sudden emotion overwhelm his senses.

Maybe he was jealous, he told himself. 

But what exactly was there to be jealous of?

He decided to just pass it off as being annoyed with Ouma for grating on his nerves as he spoke.

"Come on, let's go." he said, reaching out to grab Kaede's wrist and pulling her down the hall.

"Ah! Wait, hold on a minute, Shuichi!" Kaede exclaimed as he stopped in front of the elevators and he pressed the down button.

The elevator arrived moments later and they got on, pressing the lobby button. The doors closed and the elevator began to go down. Kaede fidgeted a little as she glanced at Shuichi out of the corner of her eye.

"Um, Shuichi...you're gripping my wrist too tight..." she trailed off.

"Ah!" Shuichi quickly released her wrist. "Sorry, Kaede!" he exclaimed.

"Oh no, you're fine! You don't have to apologize!" Kaede said, waving her hands about frantically.

The elevator stopped at the lobby and they stepped out, walking through the lobby and stepping out into the cool evening air. The sun was quickly setting behind the horizon as they walked, Kaede directing him to Canary Hall. She brought her hands behind her back as she looked at Shuichi.

"So...Ouma-kun lives across from you?" she said, the sentence coming out more like a question rather than a statement.

"Huh? Ah...yeah, he does..." he trailed off.

"Ouch. That must be tough, especially with how he sleeps around with random guys every night." she commented.

A slight breeze rippled through the air as Kaede tucked some strands of hair behind her ear.

"How do you deal with that? I mean, he must make a lot of noise when he's, well, screwing around." she asked.

"Ah. Well, I just plug in headphones and listen to some music to tune out all other sounds." Shuichi explained.

"I see..." Kaede trailed off.

She turned left with Shuichi following suit and they walked down a cobblestone path that was dimly lit by lampposts.

"Okay, so Canary Hall's just down this way..." she trailed off.

"So far in?" Shuichi questioned in surprise.

"Yeah. We're pretty much cut off from the rest of campus. What's good about Canary Hall is that a lot of the necessities such as a dining hall and gym are already in the building, so we don't have to worry about walking to a nearby dining hall." she explained.

"Huh...Canary Hall must be big if they're able to have both the gym and dining hall in one place..." Shuichi mumbled as they stepped through a clearing.

An extravagant, six story lodge-style building came into view shortly after. Shuichi gawked at the building.

"Wait a second, this is Canary Hall?!" he exclaimed in shock.

"Yeah! Looks nice and cozy, doesn't it?" she asked.

"It sure does..." he trailed off.

"Next time, I'll have you over and I can show you around." she suggested.

"Yeah, that sounds nice." he said.

"Okay!" she beamed at him. "Thanks again for the advice, Shuichi! I'll see you later!" she chirped.

"Yeah, see you!" Shuichi called out as she headed off towards the entrance.

She walked up the stairs onto the expansive front porch and turned, a wide smile on her face as she waved goodbye to him. He waved in response, watching her giggle before turning around, scanning her card, and heading inside.

He lowered his hand and sighed, shoving them into his jeans pockets.

"Well, she's back at the dorm, so now it's time to head back." he spoke aloud to himself before turning around and walking back to Phoenix Hall.

* * *

He arrived back at Phoenix Hall ten minutes later, standing in the elevator as it went up to the fourth floor. He watched the numbers increase as he began to think.

_I wonder if that line is still there,_ he wondered to himself.

His mind drifted back to when Ouma grabbed for one of the guys in line and began making out with him in front of him and Kaede. He recalled the very loud, obnoxious moan he made and that mischievous twinkle in his eyes as he was being carried back into his room.

Ouma was trying to provoke him.

Shuichi's eyebrow twitched at the realization.

_Come on, Shuichi, rein it in. Don't let him provoke you,_ he told himself.

The elevator dinged, the doors sliding open soon after. He stepped out of the elevator and turned to head down the hall, immediately noticing that the line of guys had disappeared.

_Huh? Where'd all those guys go,_ he wondered to himself as a voice reached his ears.

"How many times do I have to tell you to stop doing that?"

Shuichi looked to see Hajime and Nagito standing in front of an open door. He arched a brow at this.

"Hajime and Nagito...? What are they doing out here...?" he wondered out loud.

"Awwwwwww~!" Shuichi watched as Ouma came into view, still wearing the unbuttoned shirt and boxer briefs from earlier. "Why do you always have to ruin the fun, Haji-chan?" he asked, a pout forming on his pink lips.

"I don't care if I've ruined your "fun", rules are rules! I have told you countless times not to one, disrupt the peace on this floor, and two, have countless men lined outside your room!" Hajime barked out.

Nagito let out a chuckle.

"Now, now, Hinata-kun." he reached out to touch Hajime's arm. "There's no need for you to get all snappy with him." he told him.

"Stop defending him! And also, as a CA, I am authorized to enforce the rules!" Hajime glared at Nagito. "And you! You're supposed to be enforcing the rules as well, not encouraging people to break them." he scolded.

"Oh, was that in the job description?" Nagito asked.

Hajime groaned.

"I can't believe I am surrounded by idiots." he then realized that Nagito's hand was on his arm. "And don't touch me! That's seriously creepy!" he exclaimed, smacking Nagito's hand away.

"Aw, you're so cold, Hinata-kun~" Nagito singsonged.

"Fuck off, why don't you..." Hajime grumbled as Ouma cut into the conversation.

"Sorry to cut you two off during your mini flirting session, but the last guy I slept with didn't fuck me right. Like, I didn't even cum! I had to pretend I came!" Ouma exclaimed.

"The hell do I care whether or not you had a fucking orgasm?! Also, I was **_NOT_** flirting with this hope-obsessed piece of trash!" Hajime snapped angrily.

"Hope-obsessed piece of trash...?! Mmmm, I like it when you talk dirty to me, Hinata-kun." Nagito leaned against Hajime. "You should do it more often." he spoke in a flirtatious voice.

Shuichi blinked his eyes twice as he watched the three of them interact.

_This conversation is taking a very weird turn,_ he thought to himself.

He watched as Hajime spoke.

"Stop leaning on me, Komaeda! You're fucking heavy." he bit out as he shoved Nagito off of him.

Nagito laughed as Ouma spoke.

" ** _ANYWAY!_** As I was saying, I didn't feel good with that last guy! So, on that note," Ouma reached for the sleeve of Nagito's jacket, "I'm gonna steal your beloved companion for the night and ride him like there's no tomorrow." he said before pulling Nagito forward.

"Oh, it sounds like my evening just got interesting." Nagito commented as he disappeared inside Ouma's room.

"O-Oi! You hold on just a minute, Ouma!" Hajime exclaimed.

"Sorry, Haji-chan! As much as I like threesomes, I don't wanna have one with  ** _YOU!_** " Ouma declared, sticking his tongue out at him while pulling the lower eyelid of his right eye down.

"Wait just a—" 

"Noooooope~! I ain't waiting any longer!" Ouma waved at Hajime. "Night night, Haji-chan!" he chirped before slamming the door shut.

"Oi!" Hajime knocked on the door. "Open up, Ouma!" he shouted.

He knocked a few more times before letting out an exasperated sigh. He withdrew his hand and ran his fingers through his hair.

"Oh, damn it all..." he muttered under his breath.

He looked away from the door and he locked eyes with Shuichi.

"Oh, Saihara-kun?" he spoke, surprise laced in his voice.

"Ah...hey." Shuichi glanced at the closed door and then at Hajime. "Sorry for eavesdropping. I didn't mean to." he apologized.

"Oh, there's no need to apologize! This kind of stuff happens more often than you think." Hajime let his hand drop to his side. "I was thinking of going to the lounge and chilling for a little bit. Do you wanna come with?" he asked.

"Huh? Ah..." Shuichi slowly blinked. "Yeah, sure." he replied.

"Alright." Hajime said.

He smiled as he stuffed his hands into his grey hoodie pocket.

"Follow me, then." 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I was actually going to have one more scene happen in this chapter where Hajime explains to Shuichi how him and Nagito know Ouma, but then decided to move it to the beginning of next chapter because this chapter was getting relatively long and I feel like the story might flow better if I did that, so yeah.
> 
> Additional Vocab:  
> -Canary Hall: The design is based off a lodge resort in British Columbia, Canada called Painters Lodge. It looks exactly like it, except it has six floors. The link is here (https://www.evergreenescapes.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/Painters-Lodge_BC.jpg)
> 
> *Follow me on Tumblr @kawaiikichi for story previews, updates/notices, and other fanfic-related things!*  
> **I am also beginning to post relationship charts for some of the more major characters (some of the descriptions contain things that may or may not covered in later chapters so I guess they're kinda like spoilers???), so there's that if you wanna check them out on my Tumblr!**  
> Link: http://kawaiikichi.tumblr.com/


	6. Cellphone

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Connections are made.  
> Shuichi is one hella forgetful person.  
> Kokichi and Shuichi have another one of their encounters cuz the author's hand slipped.  
> Kaede, Shuichi, Kaito, and Maki head home for the weekend.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welp, guess who's back with another chapter! Yup, it's me.
> 
> So, some interesting stuff is going to get revealed, but otherwise, this chapter is pretty much uneventful. Next chapter will be, though ;)
> 
> Okay, so there was supposed to be no flirting or Ouma trying to seduce Saihara in this chapter but then my hand slipped and bam, they suddenly started flirting and Ouma started trying to seduce him. So yeah, there's that to look forward to as well.
> 
> With that being said, here's the next chapter!
> 
> (I also have some important news for you all, so please make sure to read the note at the end!)

Shuichi cracked open a bottle of lemon lime soda, bringing the mouth of the bottle to his lips as Hajime inserted some money into the vending machine. 

"Did you go out?" Hajime asked as he pressed the Dr. Hopper button on the machine.

"I did. I had a friend over, so I walked her back to her dorm." Shuichi explained.

"I see." Hajime said.

He bent down to pick up the Dr. Hopper can and he made his way over to Shuichi. He sat down next to him on the couch, cracking his can open. He took a couple of gulps as Shuichi spoke.

"So...about what happened in the hallway..." he trailed off.

"Oh, that. Like I said, it's something that happens more often than you think it does. Ouma keeps breaking the rules, so I have to keep coming after him." Hajime sighed. "It's even worse when that annoying Komaeda encourages his behavior rather than disciplining him for it..." he trailed off.

"I see..." Shuichi trailed off.

He took another sip from his soda.

"But Hajime, I've been wondering this for a couple of days now. Just how exactly do you and Nagito know Ouma-kun?" he asked.

"That," Hajime took a sip from his can, "that's a hella long story." he said.

"I don't mind listening." Shuichi commented.

Hajime sighed.

"Well, if you insist." he rested his can on the small table before them. "So, I'll start with how we wound up meeting Ouma. It was at the very first floor meeting during freshman year. He was a little bit of a troublemaker, to say the least. He made sure to break each and every rule set out, whether it be smoking on school grounds or disrupting the peace. I was on his ass constantly. However, Komaeda seemed to like him and wanted to try and become his friend. So one night, I was heading next door to return something of Komaeda's and I walked in on them having sex." Hajime said.

"Wait, what?!" Shuichi sputtered out his drink in shock at Hajime's words.

"Yeah, you heard me right. I walked in on them having sex. Apparently, they're fuck buddies. Like, they met at a frat party a month before I walked in on them and hooked up, which started their friends with benefits relationship. That was when I found out about Ouma's reputation and how he's been sleeping with all the guys on campus. So, I've had to keep him in check with that and just saw him as the campus "manwhore," as some people call him." Hajime explained.

"But...I can assume that you don't see him that way, right?" Shuichi guessed.

"Hm? What makes you think that?" Hajime asked.

"Well...based on how you've interacted with him, it seems more like a sibling bond to me." Shuichi explained.

"Hm...well, I guess you can say that something happened on New Year's. I can't give you the details because I promised him I wouldn't tell anyone else, but ever since then, we've grown close and I stopped seeing him as a manwhore with little to no decorum and more of just a college student who just...likes to have a little too much fun." Hajime explained.

"I see..." Shuichi trailed off.

Hajime reached for his can as he glanced over at Shuichi.

"So? What's your relationship with Ouma?" he asked.

"Huh?! My relationship with Ouma-kun?!" Shuichi exclaimed in shock.

"Yeah. I heard from him that you two had an interesting encounter at a party a few days ago?" Hajime inquired, eyeing him curiously.

Shuichi bit his lip, recalling when him and Ouma were making out in the bathroom of the fraternity house.

_Aaaaaagh, why do I keep remembering that night?!_ he asked himself.

"W-Well...we don't exactly have a relationship...it's just him trying to get me to sleep with him." Shuichi pointed out.

"Huh." Hajime took a sip. "Well, do you plan on doing it? Sleeping with him, that is." he asked.

"Of course not! I wouldn't even dream of doing something like that with someone I don't know well!" Shuichi screwed the cap back onto his soda bottle. "However..." he trailed off.

"However?" Hajime asked, encouraging him to continue.

"There's something about him that fascinates me. He just pulls me in and doesn't plan on letting me go. It makes me want to try and get to know him more..." Shuichi trailed off.

"Do you want to get to know him?" Hajime asked.

"I do...? Like, I want to, but he keeps trying to make a move on me and it's impossible for me to ask him anything." Shuichi pointed out.

"Yeah, he can be like that sometimes. But, I think you should go for it. I'm sure you'll find a way for him to be more open with you." Hajime suggested.

He stood up from the couch, stretching.

"Well, I'm gonna head back to my room. I've got class at eight thirty tomorrow." he said as he began to make his way over to the door.

"Alright." Shuichi replied.

Hajime opened the door and he stopped in the doorway.

"Oh yeah, before I forget. If you try to get to know to him and you guys start to get close," he turned to look at Shuichi, "make sure you don't fall for him." he warned.

"Make sure I don't fall in love with him?" Shuichi's eyebrow quirked up at Hajime's warning. "What is that supposed to mean?" he asked.

Hajime shrugged.

"Eh, just putting it out there. Things'll just get complicated if you did." he turned away. "Well, I'm gonna go now. Goodnight, Saihara-kun!" he chirped as he exited the room.

"Goodnight." Shuichi responded as the door closed, leaving him by himself in the lounge.

Shuichi glanced down at his soda bottle.

"Don't fall in love with him, huh..." Shuichi let out a chuckle as he ran his fingers through his hair. "Yeah, that probably won't happen." he said, letting his hand drop to his side with a sigh.

* * *

Shuichi watched a text notification popped up on his phone screen as he began working on a worksheet for his forensics class. 

**Kaito M: K who's going home for the weekend? Cuz I am.**

He tapped on the text bubble, watching it redirect him to the messaging app as a few more texts came in.

**Maki H: Same.**

**Kaede A: Yup, I'm going home too!**

**Kaito M: K cuz I'll drive you if you need it!**

**Kaede A: Really?! Thank you!!!**

**Maki H: I was going to take the bus but okay :/**

**Kaito M: What? ;^;**

**Kaito M: You don't want to ride with me?**

**Maki H: I never said that.**

**Kaede A: You totally just did, though...**

**Maki H: Do you want to die?**

**Kaede A: Sorry, sorry!**

**Kaito M: Alright! I still gotta hear from Shuichi!**

**Kaito M: Well, bro? Do you need a ride back home this weekend or nah?**

Shuichi tapped his mechanical pencil against his chin as he began to think.

_I probably will. Besides, my uncle will be too busy to come get me and I'm not really familiar with the bus routes just yet,_ he told himself.

He finished answering one of the problems on the worksheet and he grabbed for his phone, responding to Kaito's text.

**Shuichi S: Yeah, I'm gonna need a ride, too.**

**Kaito M: Alright! Where you at right now?**

**Shuichi S: I'm in my last class rn, but it's gonna end in about five minutes.**

**Kaito M: Okay. We'll all meet up by the fountain near Phoenix Hall at around 5 or so. Does that sound good?**

**Kaede A: Yup! I'm cool with that! :)**

**Maki H: I'll be okay with that.**

**Shuichi S: Yeah, that's good.**

**Kaito M: Alright! See you all then!**

Shuichi put his phone down and he went back to working on the rest of his worksheet. He finished the last problem on it as his professor spoke.

"Class is dismissed! Please work on your worksheets over the weekend and I'll see you guys on Monday!" the professor said.

Everyone stood up at once and began packing their bags. Shuichi did the same, stuffing his worksheet intro his class folder and putting that into his backpack. He made sure to grab everything before heading out of the classroom and making his way back over to Phoenix Hall.

_It's the weekend at last!_ he thought to himself.

He placed his hands in the pocket of his light grey hoodie as he began to think.

_Man, this week was surely crazy...coming to Hope's Peak University, my classes, reuniting with my friends and making new friends, and then there was that frat party..._ he trailed off in his thoughts.

At the thought of the frat party, his mind drifted back to Ouma and how they met. He recalled their make out session in the bathroom and when they jumped into the pool in the backyard. He recalled the few times Ouma tried to make a move on him and what occurred last night.

A faint blush touched his cheeks as his thoughts began to fill with images of the purple-haired male.

_Gosh, Shuichi, stop it! What is wrong with you?!_ he mentally scolded.

He released an exasperated sigh.

"I need to distract myself..." he muttered as he reached for his phone, which was resting in the back left pocket of his jeans.

At least, that was where his phone should have been.

He felt fear strike him upon realizing that his phone wasn't in his jeans pocket.

"Oh my god, my phone..." he trailed off.

He made his way over to the wall and he began to pat down his other pockets, including his hoodie pocket. When he didn't feel his phone in his hand, he dropped his backpack onto the ground and he unzipped it, digging through it. He began to panic as he continued digging through his bag.

_Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god...! Where'd my phone go?! If I can't find my phone, then how am I going to be able to contact Kaito and the others?! What if I need to make an important phone call?! Oh god, what am I supposed to do...?!_ he asked himself.

He zipped up his bag as a thought came to him.

"Did I leave it back in the classroom...?" he wondered aloud.

He stood up and slung his bag over his shoulder as he heard a familiar voice call out to him.

"Saihara-chaaaaaaaan!"

Shuichi's eyes widened in surprise at the voice.

_That voice...it couldn't be,_ he thought to himself.

He turned, watching to see Ouma running over to him.

"Ouma-kun?!" Shuichi exclaimed in shock as Ouma stopped before him, throwing his hands onto his thighs as he tried to catch his breath.

"Oh goodness...I thought I was going to lose you there for a second..." he rose his head to look at Shuichi, a wide grin spread across his lips. "Maaaaaaaan, you sure walk fast, Saihara-chan!" Ouma exclaimed.

"W-Well, I'm sorry that I walk fast!" Shuichi complained.

He eyed Ouma curiously.

"Anyway, what is it that you need me for? I have some important business to take care of." Shuichi stated.

"Important business? What kind of important business?" Ouma asked.

"Business that isn't any of yours." Shuichi replied.

This earned him a sharp gasp from the shorter male.

"My, how rude! Is that how you communicate with other people? Or am I the only one getting the cold treatment? Saihara-chan..." his purple eyes grew watery. "All I've ever been was nice to you and yet...and yet you..." he trailed off.

Shuichi swallowed, watching as Ouma's eyes shone with tears.

"Ouma-kun—" 

"Uwaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!" Ouma burst into a loud wail, tears cascading down his cheeks. "Saihara-chan is soooooooooo mean!" he cried out.

"Ah! Ouma-kun!" Shuichi exclaimed.

_I only wanted him to leave me alone so that I could go see if my phone is still in the classroom. I wasn't expecting him to make a big deal out of it and start crying!_ he thought to himself.

"Ugh, crap, I...Ouma-kun..." Shuichi ran his fingers through his hair. "Look, I'm sorry if I offended you in any way. I didn't mean it that way, honest!" he apologized.

"That still doesn't change anything! You really hurt my feelings, Saihara-chan!" Ouma whined.

"Okay, I'm sorry for hurting your feelings, Ouma-kun! Look, I'll do anything to make up for it." Shuichi offered.

"A-Anything?" Ouma spoke in between tears.

"Yes, I am willing to do anything as long as it'll get you to stop crying." Shuichi said.

Ouma blinked up at him with watery eyes as he spoke.

"Then...I want you to kiss me..." he said in between sniffles.

"Okay, if that's what you—" that was when Shuichi noticed something. "Wait, what?" he asked.

Almost instantly, the tears stopped flowing and Ouma's bottom lip curled up into a pout.

"Aw maaaaaaaaaaaan! I almost got you in my trap!" he complained.

"Wait, did you just use crocodile tears on me?" Shuichi asked incredulously.

"And if I did?" Ouma began observing his nails. "I mean, they work on every guy, so I figured they would work on you, too. Seems like I was wrong." he stated.

Shuichi felt the anger begin to bubble up inside of him.

_Why this little...!_ he tried to keep it bottled up inside of him as he spoke.

"Can you not do that? I really thought I hurt your feelings." Shuichi requested.

"I'm afraid I can't promise you that, Saihara-chan. Also, haven't you forgotten? Everything I say or do is pretty much a lie! Okay, that's probably a lie. Oh wait, I'm lying about how I lied that everything I say or do is a lie. I mean, you can never tell with me." Ouma said.

Shuichi's eyebrow twitched.

"Good to know. Now, if that's all, can I go now? I think I left my phone back in my classroom and I need to check and see if it's there." Shuichi said as he began to walk away from Ouma.

"A phone, huh...didja mean this phone?" Ouma called out.

"What phone—" Shuichi turned and his eyes widened upon seeing his phone in Ouma's hand.

_He has it,_ he thought to himself.

"Yes...yes, that's my phone!" he walked back over to Ouma. "Where did you find it?" he asked.

"Oh, this?" Ouma waved Shuichi's phone around in his hand. "I went to my class and saw it sitting on my desk. I was about to give it to the professor when I saw the group chat between you, Momota-chan, Kayayday, and Harukawa-chan. So, I figured that it was yours and rushed out to give it back to you." he explained.

"Oh thank goodness...I'm glad you found it." Shuichi said as he reached to take the phone from him. However, Ouma pulled it away from him.

"Nah-ah! You ain't getting this phone!" he declared.

"Huh?! But that's my phone!" Shuichi exclaimed.

"Well, I'm not going to hand it over to you so easily, not after you were being so rude to me!" Ouma pointed out.

"But I said I was sorry!" Shuichi stated.

"Sorry doesn't cut it, i-diot!" Ouma jeered as he stuck his tongue out in an act of childishness, reaching up to pull down the lower eyelid of his right eye.

"I am not an idiot! Now, give me my phone back!" Shuichi complained as he tried to reach for it again.

"Nope! Not giving it to you!" Ouma chirped.

"Come on, Ouma-kun! Stop playing games with me and give it back!"

"Hm, maybe I'll give it back to you after you promise to sleep with me."

Shuichi narrowed his eyes at him.

"I've told you millions of times that I won't sleep with you." he stated.

"Aw, come on! It's not gonna kill you to sleep around a little!" Ouma pointed out.

"I'm not budging on this, Ouma-kun." Shuichi said.

"Aw...you won't even kiss me?" Ouma asked.

"No, I will not, so just give my phone back!" Shuichi shouted as he lunged at him again.

"You're gonna have to try harder than that to get it back!" Ouma called out as he took a few steps back.

Shuichi gritted his teeth.

"You gotta be serious...!" he exclaimed as he began to chase after Ouma.

Ouma laughed as he dodged Shuichi, waving his phone around.

"Come and get it, Saihara-chan~!" he singsonged.

Shuichi glowered at him as he reached for his phone. However, Ouma moved his arm out of the way and he took a few more steps back. It continued back and forth like this for a little bit, Shuichi complaining that Ouma wasn't being fair and Ouma giggling while saying that he was enjoying this.

Ouma took a couple more steps as his back was pressed against the wall.

"Oh, Saihara-chan...are you giving up alrea—" he watched as Shuichi trapped him against the wall, his hands on either side of his head.

"I got you. Now, give me back my phone." Shuichi demanded.

Ouma blinked up at him, a blank expression washing over his features. Shuichi swallowed as Ouma's gaze bore into his own.

"Wh-What is it?" he stammered out.

"Did you plan this?" Ouma asked.

"Huh? What do you mean?" Shuichi answered.

"What else do you think I meant? I mean this." Ouma said, motioning between the two of them.

"I still don't—" that was when Shuichi noticed the position that they were in.

Shuichi had Ouma trapped against the wall, legs straddling Ouma's right leg. Shuichi swallowed, his heart racing as he looked at Ouma. 

He observed the shorter male in his purple Panta sweatshirt, which was so large on him that some of it slid off of his shoulder to reveal a lilac colored strap, black short shorts, grey leggings, and black ankle boots. He noted the two purple bobby pins in his hair, the intoxicating scent of vanilla lavender in his hair and spearmint in his breath, and the slight sheen of his lips from whatever kind of lip gloss he wore.

He found himself swallowing once again.

_Oh god. He looks so freaking adorable,_ he thought to himself.

"Saihara-chan..." Ouma's voice was low and husky. "You look like you want to kiss me." he whispered.

Shuichi's tongue darted out to lick at his lips, choosing not to admit that that was what he was thinking. But, he didn't deny it, either.

A smile pulled at Ouma's lips as he leaned in closer.

"Don't worry. I have that effect on people sometimes." he rested his hand on Shuichi's shoulder. "It's okay if you want to indulge in me for a little bit, Saihara-chan. All you have to do is close the distance between us." he said.

Shuichi could hear his heart pound furiously in his ears as he looked at Ouma. He felt himself moving of his own accord, leaning in closer towards him. As their noses brushed against one another, his eyes grew wide.

_Shit,_ he mentally cursed.

He brought his hand up and he pressed it against Ouma's mouth, pushing him away.

"I told you I'm not going to do it!" he quickly snatched his phone out of Ouma's grasp. "Again, thank you for finding my phone! Now, I've get going. I'll see you next week!" Shuichi said before rushing off, his heart racing even quicker than before.

Ouma watched Shuichi go, the blank look returning to his face. It then faded away as a giggle pushed past his lips.

"What a liar. He totally wanted to kiss me." he said.

He twirled some hair around his finger as he turned to head back to his classroom.

"We're getting there. Just a little more and then I'll have you at my every beck and call, Saihara-chan~"

* * *

After packing a bag for the weekend and meeting up with Kaito and the others, they began the two hour drive back to their hometown. Kaito drove with Maki in the passenger seat and Kaede and Shuichi in the back seat. 

"Yo, what kind of music do you guys want?" Kaito asked.

Maki shrugged.

"I don't really care." she stated bluntly.

"I'm fine with anything!" Kaede chirped.

Kaito released a loud sigh.

"You guys aren't helping!" he peered at Shuichi through the rearview mirror. "Oi, Shuichi! What do you think?" he asked.

"Hm?" Shuichi looked away from the window. "I don't think it really matters." he stated.

Kaito groaned.

"You're no help, either..." he mumbled before reaching over and turning the radio on. He changed the channel, letting a Twenty One Pilots song play.

Shuichi sighed as he returned to look out the window, eyes trained on the scenery. As Kaito drove out of the town, he recalled what happened between him and Ouma not too long ago.

_"It's okay if you want to indulge in me for a little bit, Saihara-chan. All you have to do is close the distance between us."_ Shuichi felt a blush begin to spread across his cheeks as Kaede reached over to poke his arm.

"What?" Shuichi asked, shifting in his seat to face her.

She motioned for him to lean in closer. He arched a brow at this, but decided to lean in, anyway.

"You have this sweet scent lingering around you. Were you with a woman or something?" she asked.

"Huh? No, I was not." he responded as he pulled away from her.

_Did his scent cling to me or something,_ he wondered to himself.

"Ah, wait, wait." she pulled him back in. "This scent...it's lavender and vanilla..." she trailed off.

Her eyes widened in realization.

"Wait a second, that's Ouma-kun's shampoo!" she stared at him in bewilderment. "Were you and Ouma-kun up to something fishy earlier today?!" she asked in a hushed whisper.

"Wh-What?! No!" he pulled away from her like he had been scorched by fire. "What in the world would make you think that?!" he exclaimed.

"Oi." Maki looked at them through the rearview mirror. "Are you two okay in the back there?" she asked.

"Huh? Yeah, we're fine." Shuichi said.

Maki eyed him.

"If you say so." she said before looking away.

Shuichi watched her redirect her attention towards her phone before looking back over at Kaede.

"What makes you think that Ouma-kun and I did anything?!" he hissed.

"Because you reek of his shampoo!" Kaede pouted, crossing her arms over her chest. "Shuichi, has he made any moves on you since your first encounter?" she asked.

"Any moves?" he questioned.

"Yeah. Has he, like, I don't know, tried to seduce you into sleeping with him?" she asked.

Shuichi bit his lip as he recalled the several instances Ouma attempted to do so.

_I can't exactly hide this from her,_ he told himself.

"Okay, yes. He has tried to on several occasions." he replied.

"Oh goodness. Shuichi, please be careful around him. If Maki and Kaito catch wind of this, then things'll get crazy." she warned.

"I know." he glanced over at her. "You didn't happen to say anything about what happened yesterday, did you?" he asked.

"Of course I didn't. I don't feel like putting you under any unnecessary stress like what I'm experiencing right now." she stated, flipping some of her hair over her shoulder.

"I see..." Shuichi trailed off.

He glanced back out the window and let out a sigh, watching his breath fog up the window a little.

Sooner or later, he found himself growing drowsy, letting the movement of the car and thoughts of Ouma and his current predicament lull him to sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so I feel like everyone has an idea of what's going on with Tumblr, but I'll just say it in case you don't: they're apparently going to be banning NSFW content starting December 17th. Now, this won't be affecting any of my fanfics on here because I'll still be uploading on here like normal. But, my blogs (both my main and writing one) might be in danger because I have reblogged quite a bit of BL and yaoi content pertaining my ships on my main blog and on my writing blog, I have uploaded some NSFW one-shots. Like, they say that written NSFW is okay to post on there, but I'm not taking any chances with them at this point. I'll still be active on there, it's just that I'll have to tone down the NSFW on there quite a bit :/
> 
> So, if my blog just happens to magically disappear any time after December 17th, just know that I'll still be on AO3! I also made myself a Twitter yesterday, so if anyone's interested, then they can find me there.
> 
> Twitter: @kawaiishuusai (It's quite bare, but I'll try and be more active) 
> 
> That one is just my personal one and I am going to be making one for my writing sooner or later. I just need to work out the basics of Twitter and grow accustomed to it (cuz I have never used Twitter once in my life) before doing so. I'll let you know when that happens!
> 
> (Sorry for the long end note; I just really needed to get this out there! If you have any questions, don't be afraid to ask!)  
> \---------------------  
> Follow me on Tumblr @kawaiikichi!  
> Link: http://kawaiikichi.tumblr.com/


	7. Weekend Happenings

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kaito and Maki go shoe shopping.  
> Maki begins to feel a spark...  
> Kaede runs into the last person she wanted to see at the moment.  
> Shuichi gets a text from someone he least expected to receive one from.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, you guys! I'm back with the next chapter of Game of Cat and Mouse! So, we're taking a short break and focusing on some Momoharu and Amamatsu content before returning to Shuichi's current dilemma. Also, this will most likely be the last update for 2018! The next time I update, it'll be in 2019.
> 
> Not much to say this time around, so with that, here's the next chapter! I hope you like it and let me know what you think!
> 
> (Meanwhile, Imma just go and cry over Banana Fish and Ash TT_TT)

A frown spread across Maki's lips as she glared at her watch, tapping her foot impatiently. 

_Where the hell is that idiot? I've been standing here for almost an hour now,_ she thought to herself.

"Oi! Maki Roll!"

Maki released a loud sigh as she looked up to see Kaito running over to her wearing a simple grey shirt, his signature purple jacket, jeans, and galaxy pattern Converse.

"Finally..." she muttered under he breath as he stopped before her.

"Sorry I'm late..." he tried to catch his breath. "Did you wait long?" he asked.

"I did. I've been standing here for almost an hour waiting for you." she replied bluntly.

"Ouch, that hurt." Kaito scratched his goatee. "You know, you're supposed to say that you weren't waiting long so that you don't hurt the other person's feelings." he stated.

Maki shrugged, crossing her arms over her chest.

"I don't see why I have to do that when I can just be blunt about it." she pointed out.

Kaito sighed.

"It's still nice to be considerate. I mean, you don't plan on acting that way once you start going out on dates, do you?" he asked.

"Huh? Don't bring up such stupid things, Kaito." she narrowed her eyes at him. "Are you assuming that what we're on right now is a date?" she inquired.

"Huh? Of course not! I don't know what would make you think that." Kaito said.

"Well, you mentioned dates, so I figured that that was what you were referring to." she flipped one of her ponytails over her shoulder. "Let's go. Time's going to continue slipping away if we stand here like this." she said before walking down the sidewalk.

Kaito followed after her, his hands in his jacket pockets. She glanced at him out of the corner of her eyes, noting the small pout on his lips. She couldn't help but find it cute when he pouted.

All of a sudden, her heart skipped a beat. Her eyes widened in surprise.

_What the hell? Why am I reacting to that? Stop skipping a beat, stupid heart,_ she mentally scolded herself.

She shooed those thoughts away as Kaito fell into step beside her.

"So...any idea as to what shoe store you wanna go to?" he asked.

"I was just going to go to the one I usually go to. It's across from that cafe you used to work at." she explained.

"Oh, that one? I didn't know you shopped over there." Kaito commented.

"I do." she replied.

As they walked through the streets, Maki couldn't help but sneak glances at him every once in a while. Ever since they went to see the fireworks on New Year's, she found herself growing more aware of his presence. She never took notice of it before, but it always seemed like Kaito stuck with her no matter what happened over the years. He was there to celebrate with her when something went right in life and there to comfort her when her life began to spiral downward. No matter what the situation was, Kaito was there for her. Recalling such memories made her heart flutter, which was something she couldn't understand.

Why was she getting like this around Kaito?

They approached an intersection and proceeded to cross the street. She lagged a little behind him, those same thoughts swirling around in her mind. She shook her head, hoping to clear her mind of them.

_Stop thinking about it. It'll do you no good if you continue acting like this,_ she told herself.

She was pulled out of her thoughts by a hand grabbing ahold of hers. She felt a spark ignite the moment their hands touched. She rose her head, watching Kaito in surprise as their fingers intertwined with one another.

"Kaito—"

"We need to stick close together, okay, Maki Roll?"

"Uh...yeah..."

As they crossed the street, she looked at Kaito's broad shoulders and back, her heart hammering against her rib cage.

_God fucking dammit, stop racing, stupid heart! There's no need for you to be racing at all,_ she told herself as they reached the other side.

"Come on, we're almost there." Kaito said as they walked down the sidewalk.

"Um...Kaito?" she spoke up.

"Yeah? What's up, Maki Roll?" he answered.

"Um...my hand..." she trailed off.

Kaito stopped, turning so that he was looking at her.

"What about your hand?" he asked.

"This." she rose her hand, showing him that their hands were still clasped together. "You do plan on letting go of my hand sometime soon, right?" she asked.

"Ah! Y-Yeah!" Kaito quickly released her hand, turning away from her as he stuffed his hands into his coat pockets. "Come on, let's go." he said.

"Yeah..." Maki trailed off.

She eyed him as they got closer to the shoe store. She thought she had seen him blushing, but decided that her eyes were playing tricks on her. She brought her bottom lip in between her teeth as they arrived at the shoe store.

"Here we are!" Kaito reached for the door, holding it open for her. "After you, Maki Roll!" he declared.

"Thanks..." Maki mumbled.

She reached up to tug on her ponytail as she stepped inside. Kaito grinned as he followed her in.

"You know, you seem to have a habit of tugging on your ponytail whenever someone does something nice for you." he noted.

"Huh? Don't be stupid." she remarked as she let her hands drop to her sides.

"I'm not being stupid!" Kaito complained.

"Yeah you are, dumbass." she stated before heading further into the store.

"Dumbass—?!" Kaito huffed out a sigh as he walked after her.

She walked through the aisles of shoes, picking shoe boxes off the shelves and examining the shoes inside. Kaito peeked over her shoulder at the shoes, a curious expression washing over his features.

"So? What kind of shoes are you looking to buy?" he asked.

"A nice pair of Converse would be ideal, but I'm fine with anything." she then looked over her shoulder, narrowing her eyes at him. "And I hope you realize that you're the one buying the shoes for me. I'm not the one that threw up on them, after all." she commented.

"Yes, yes, I know." he replied.

Maki tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear as she reached for a box that had a pair of red and white checkered Toms in them.

"Okay, how about we split up? You check one half of the aisle and I'll check the other half. We can also take a peek at what they have in the clearance section." she suggested.

"Yeah, let's do that!" Kaito chirped before heading back down the aisle.

Maki breathed out a sigh as she put the shoe box back.

_Thank god he went with it...I need to be by myself for a little bit,_ she told herself.

She looked at some of the boots that were on display.

_I almost thought my heart was going to leap out of my chest or something,_ she thought to herself.

She picked out a couple of boxes and went to sit on an ottoman by the clearance section. She placed the boxes on the ottoman and reached for one of them, taking out a pair of navy blue flip flops.

"Let's try these on..." she murmured as she reached down to take off her sneakers and socks.

She slipped on the flip flops and observed them. A disapproving frown pulled at her lips.

"Nope. Don't like how these look at all." she said as she took off the flip flops and put them back into the box.

She reached for the next box, pulling out a pair of black Toms as she saw Kaito making his way over to her with six shoe boxes in his arms.

"That is a lot of shoes." she commented.

"I know." Kaito set the boxes down beside her. "I happened to see quite a few that looked nice and before I knew it, I ended up with all this." he explained.

"Huh." she responded as she slipped on the Toms.

After noting that the Toms squeezed around her toes a little, she took them off and reached for the next shoe box. With each pair of shoes that she tried on, she didn't fail to find at least one flaw with them.

She sighed as she finished trying on her seventh pair of shoes.

"This is so exhausting...I don't think I'll ever be able to understand why Kaede likes shopping so much..." she mumbled.

"Remember, you're the one who suggested that we go shoe shopping." Kaito piped in.

Maki glowered at him.

"Do you want to die?" she bit out.

Kaito chuckled nervously.

"Sorry." he apologized.

Maki sighed, nodding her head at the last shoe box by Kaito's feet.

"Give me those." she said.

"Yeah." Kaito replied as he handed the box to her.

"Thank you." she said as she opened the box and pulled out a pair of black knee high Converse.

She blinked her eyes in surprise as she observed the sneakers. 

"You said you wanted Converse, so I picked those out." Kaito said.

She nodded her head in response as she put them on, lacing them up. She stood up, turning to face Kaito.

"Well? What do you think?" she asked, placing her hands on her hips.

"Hm..." Kaito observed her in the knee high Converse paired with the outfit that Shuichi selected for her earlier that week. "I think it looks nice." he said.

"You do?" Maki asked.

"I do. It...really suits you." Kaito commented, reaching up to scratch the back of his head.

Maki felt her heart flutter again as she reached up to tug on her ponytail.

"I see..." she lowered her gaze. "Then, I'll get these. How much are they?" she asked.

"They're about thirty five bucks. I found them in the clearance section." Kaito explained as Maki unlaced the Converse.

"Huh. That's pretty cheap." she commented.

After taking them off and slipping back on her shoes, they put the other shoes back where they found them. Kaito paid for her shoes and they left the store soon after, choosing to eat at a fast food restaurant for lunch.

Maki sat down at a booth by the window, fiddling with the straw in her drink. She took a sip as Kaito approached their table with a tray piled high with food.

"I've got the food!" he declared as he placed the tray on the table.

"Good. I'm starving." she said as she grabbed for her burger and fries.

"Same." Kaito noted as he unwrapped his double cheeseburger and took a big bite out of it.

She unwrapped her burger and bit into it, tasting the swiss cheese, onion, and portobello mushroom in it. 

A comfortable silence fell among them as they ate, listening to the chatter and background music around them. Maki placed her burger down and she began to dig into her fries, dipping them in the sriracha mayo Kaito got for her. She put a couple of fries into her mouth as she watched Kaito, noticing that he had ketchup at the corner of his mouth.

"Ah, you have some ketchup at the corner of your mouth." she spoke.

She felt herself moving on instinct as she reached out towards him and swiped at the ketchup with her thumb. Kaito stopped eating, watching her in slight surprise. They locked eyes, the scenery melting away for a short moment before Maki realized what she was doing.

"Ah..." she withdrew her hand quickly, acting like she had been scorched by fire. "I was just..." she trailed off.

"I know." Kaito replied, lowering his gaze to his food.

She saw that his cheeks had turned pink and began to wonder if, for just a moment, he was feeling just as nervous and flustered as she was.

She swallowed, looking away from Kaito as she grabbed for a napkin. She wiped the ketchup off her thumb and resumed eating.

Every once in a while, their knees would brush against each other under the table, eliciting small sparks that Maki felt earlier on when he took her hand.

She dug her teeth into her bottom lip as she tried to calm her racing heart.

She couldn't understand any of this at all. She couldn't understand why her heartbeat seemed to pick up with every little thing that Kaito did. She couldn't understand why she got all giddy each time he complimented her. 

Just what the hell was this feeling?

* * *

Kaede found herself at the mall later that afternoon, searching for a birthday present for Shuichi. 

_I wonder what he would want for his birthday,_ she wondered to herself.

She had a pop song playing on her phone as she walked through the mall, hands stuffed in the pockets of her beige trench coat.

She had stepped into various stores in hopes of finding something for Shuichi only to end up empty-handed. It always seemed like it got harder to buy birthday presents for her friends as the years passed.

She sighed deeply as she stepped into a department store.

_Maybe I'll buy something for him to wear,_ she thought to herself.

She made her way over to the men's section and began sifting through the racks of clothing. Every once in a while, she would pull out an article of clothing before placing it back on the rack, noting that it didn't reflect Shuichi's taste in fashion.

_Come to think of it, what even is his taste in fashion these days? It changed quite a bit ever since he left to study at Oxford for a year,_ she wondered to herself.

She moved further into the men's section, looking at some of the shirts on the rack as a voice called out to her.

"Do you need help finding anything today, Miss?"

"Ah, I'm just looking around—" she turned away from the rack to look at who called out to her.

Her breath hitched upon locking eyes with a stunned Rantaro. The world seemed to stop right then and there as she observed him in his work uniform, which consisted of a black shirt, black skinny jeans, and dark grey Converse. His piercings glinted in the light.

"A...Amami-kun..." she trailed off.

"Kaede..." Rantaro breathed out in response.

Her heart skipped a beat at how he called her by her first name. It reminded her of when they spoke the morning after they slept together. Her cheeks flushed pink at the thought.

_Aaaaaaagh, why did I have to run into him here, of all places,_ she mentally screamed.

"A-Ah! What a coincidence! I didn't think I'd run into you here!" she exclaimed, a nervous laugh pushing itself past her lips.

She wanted nothing more than for the ground to swallow her whole.

Good fucking job, Kaede.

"Ah...same..." Rantaro scratched the back of his head. "What are you doing here?" he asked.

"I came here to find something for Shuichi, seeing as his birthday's soon." she reached up to twirl some hair around her finger. "You?" she inquired.

"I actually work here." Rantaro replied.

"Oh, you work here? I had no idea! I mean, I knew that you started working another job after you quit your job at the music shop, but I didn't think that you were working here!" she said.

"Yeah...I work here now..." Rantaro trailed off.

"I see..." Kaede trailed off, bringing her bottom lip in between her teeth.

An uncomfortable silence fell over them soon after, the only sound being one of Rihanna's songs playing throughout the store. She played with the hem of her pink and white plaid miniskirt, hoping that her nervousness would die down. However, she wasn't going to be blessed with such a miracle anytime soon. Not when Rantaro's eyes were trained so intently on her.

_Oh god, this is so freaking awkward,_ she thought to herself.

"So...you said you were looking for something for Saihara-kun, right?" Rantaro spoke after a few moments of silence.

"Ah! Yes, I am. However, I'm not sure what I should get him..." she trailed off.

"Well...if you'd like, I can help you find something. That is, only if you want me to." Rantaro suggested.

Kaede watched as Rantaro diverted his gaze, bringing her bottom lip in between her teeth.

"I don't mind." she replied.

"Ah...then, tell me what you had in mind." Rantaro said.

"Well, I wanted to get him something that's comfortable, especially since it'll be fall soon. Shuichi's taste in clothing is more along the lines of classy and comfortable." she explained.

"Ah, alright. I think I have something in mind." Rantaro turned away from her. "Follow me." he said.

Kaede slowly nodded her head before following him. She had her eyes trained on his back as they walked through the men's section.

_I don't know why, but...the more I look at him, the more attractive I find him,_ she thought to herself.

Her blush deepened in realization.

_Oh my god, did I really just think that?! Gosh, this is crazy,_ she thought to herself.

She smacked her cheeks lightly, trying to will away the blush as they stopped by a rack of coats and sweaters.

"I think something like this would suit him." Rantaro pulled out a cream colored cardigan sweater. "What do you think about this?" he asked.

Kaede reached out towards the cardigan sweater, taking the sleeve in her hand. She ran her hand along the fabric as she spoke.

"Hm, it certainly looks nice. I think Shuichi would wear something like this." she said.

She looked at Rantaro.

"I think I'll take it." she said.

"Alright." he replied.

She reached to take the hanger from him, their fingers brushing against each other in the process. Kaede felt sparks erupt at the light touch, her heart skipping a beat.

"Ah!" she quickly pulled away, taking the cardigan sweater from him. "Sorry..." she trailed off.

"It's alright..." Rantaro said, a light blush rushing to his cheeks as he reached up to tug on a couple strands of hair.

Kaede lowered her gaze to her baby pink Converse, her cheeks turning red. She tried to calm her racing heart as Rantaro spoke.

"So...about what happened earlier this week..." he trailed off.

Kaede's breath hitched at his words.

_Oh god, is he going to ask me for an answer already,_ she asked herself.

She began to mentally panic.

_But I don't have an answer for him yet! I'm not prepared for this yet! I need to come up with an excuse as to why I can't answer him yet,_ she told herself.

She quickly formulated an answer and opened her mouth to speak. However, Rantaro beat her to it.

"You don't have to answer me right away." he said.

Her eyes widened in surprise.

Huh?

"My confession was very abrupt, I know. So, I'll wait for your answer. I don't care how long it is I have to wait. Whether it be a week, a couple of months, or even a few years, I'll wait. So, don't rush and think through it thoroughly." he explained.

Kaede could hear her heart pounding loudly in her ears as Rantaro's words swam about in her mind.

_He's not rushing me. He's going to wait for me to answer his confession,_ she told herself.

She swallowed, finding herself taken aback by how dry her throat had become. Her tongue darted out to lick her lips as she tried to find the right words to say to him. She would open her mouth only to close it shortly after, fearing that what she might say to him would change everything even more.

Her heart continued to race as she opened her mouth once more.

"Amami-kun—"

"Ah, it seems like I'm needed up front." Kaede's head snapped up, watching the melancholy smile that touched Rantaro's lips. "Sorry to cut our conversation short, but I've gotta go." he said.

He took a few steps backward, waving at her.

"Remember, I'll wait forever for your answer, Kaede. I'll see you around." he said before turning and rushing over to one of his coworkers.

Kaede could only stare at Rantaro as he conversed briefly with his coworker before following them to the front of the store. She gripped the hanger tightly as her heartbeat refused to slow down.

"Amami-kun..." she trailed off, staring at where he stood before, silently wishing that he stayed just a little longer.

* * *

Shuichi sat at the desk in his room, working on his homework as he listened to some Panic! At The Disco on his phone. 

He tapped his pencil against the worksheet to the beat of The Ballad of Mona Lisa as he pondered over the answer.

_Gestalt psychology...just what in the world was that again,_ he wondered to himself.

He reached for his psychology textbook and began to flip through it as his phone dinged, signaling that he had just received a text.

"Hm?" Shuichi hummed out loud as he looked at his phone.

He closed his textbook and he reached for his phone, exiting out of his music app and heading into his messages.

_I wonder who that could be,_ he thought to himself.

He tapped on the most recent conversation and read the text.

**Unknown: Hey there ;)**

Shuichi arched a brow in confusion.

"What the...?" he muttered under his breath as he typed out a reply.

**Shuichi S: I'm sorry, who's this?**

The person responded moments later.

**Unknown: Oh come on, you don't know who this is?!**

**Shuichi S: No???**

**Shuichi S: Am I supposed to???**

Shuichi sighed as he watched a purple text bubble appear in the bottom left corner of the screen.

_I am so tempted to tell them that they've got the wrong number,_ he thought to himself.

He got ready to do just that as a response came in.

**Unknown: Well yeah! Look at your contacts!**

"My contacts...?" Shuichi questioned.

_You know, I should've looked at the contact name before reading the text,_ he told himself.

He looked at the name above the text conversation and his jaw dropped upon seeing who it was.

_Are you kidding me right now,_ he mentally screamed as he typed out a reply.

**Shuichi S: ...Ouma-kun?!**

**Kokichi O: Nishishi~!**

**Kokichi O: Hi, my beloved Saihara-chan~**

Shuichi felt like his mind was spiraling out of control. How does Ouma know his number?

_This is crazy...totally crazy,_ he thought to himself.

**Shuichi S: How in the world did you get ahold of my number?**

**Shuichi S: I don't remember giving it to you.**

**Kokichi O: Ah, that.**

**Kokichi O: I stole it from Momota-chan!**

Shuichi eyed his phone in surprise as he typed out a reply.

**Shuichi S: Wait, what?!**

**Shuichi S: You got it from Kaito?!**

**Kokichi O: Yuuuuuuuuup~! Of course I did!**

**Kokichi O: After blackmailing him, he gave me your number with ease~!**

Shuichi blinked his eyes twice at Ouma's text.

"He actually blackmailed him...?" he questioned.

_Why do I find that hard to believe,_ he wondered to himself.

**Shuichi S: ...Wait a minute, Kaito despises you. Heck, he doesn't even want to have anything to do with you! So, that's got to be a lie!**

Ouma responded almost instantly.

**Kokichi O: Ooops! I've been caught~**

**Kokichi O: It was indeed a lie!**

Shuichi furrowed his brows as he typed out a reply.

**Shuichi S: Can you not lie about things like that?**

**Shuichi S: Now, tell me the truth. How did you get my number?**

**Kokichi O: Ugh, you're sooooooo boring! Fine, then. If you want the truth, then I'll give it to you!**

**Kokichi O: So, you know how you ended up leaving your phone behind in the classroom yesterday?**

**Shuichi S: Yeah...? Why does that matter?**

_What exactly is he trying to get at,_ Shuichi wondered to himself.

He began to think of what Ouma could possibly mean as a reply came in.

**Kokichi O: Yeeeeeeeeeah, so while that group convo was open, I just went in, added my contact in your phone, added yours to mine, and then I gave it back to you!**

Shuichi gaped at his phone in horror.

"What in the...?!" he nearly shouted.

_He can't be serious,_ he thought to himself.

**Shuichi S: Are you kidding me?!**

**Shuichi S: Isn't that a breach of privacy?!**

**Kokichi O: ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯**

**Shuichi S: Don't shrug your shoulders at me! This is serious!**

**Kokichi O: Nishishi~! Okay, okay.**

**Kokichi O: Although...**

**Kokichi O: I think you're pretty cute when you get all mad like that ;)**

Shuichi's cheeks flushed red as he read Ouma's text.

"Why does he always resort to flirting...?" he muttered under his breath.

**Shuichi S: OUMA-KUN.**

**Shuichi S: Stop trying to flirt with me every chance you get.**

**Kokichi O: Oh? I wasn't flirting.**

**Kokichi O: I was only stating the truth.**

"Then, what the heck was that supposed to be...?!" Shuichi hissed out.

He face palmed before typing out a reply.

**Shuichi S: You NEVER tell the truth! You're always lying!**

**Kokichi O: I'm telling the truth this time, I promise! Really!**

**Kokichi O: But you know, if you really wanted me to flirt with you, then you could've just said so~**

**Shuichi S: No. Now stop it.**

**Kokichi O: Ouch, how mean.**

**Shuichi S: Whatever.**

**Shuichi S: What is it that you want from me?**

**Kokichi O: What? Can't I text just because?**

Shuichi furrowed his brows at this, nose crinkling.

"I find that suspicious..." he mumbled as he typed out a reply.

**Shuichi S: I would say that there's nothing wrong with that, but knowing you, I highly doubt that you're texting me "just because" [xx_emoji_annoyed_xx]**

**Kokichi O: Oooh, how sharp ;)**

**Shuichi S: So? Why are you texting me?**

**Kokichi O: Weeeeeeeell, I figured I'd try and get you to sleep with me again.**

"Over the phone?" Shuichi questioned in surprise.

He tapped his foot against the carpet, his frown deepening.

**Shuichi S: I've told you millions of times, Ouma-kun. I'm not going to sleep with you.**

**Kokichi O: Come oooooooooon! Why wouldn't you wanna sleep with a sexy bombshell like myself?!**

**Kokichi O: I mean, I'm pretty sure I've turned you on at some point, haven't I?**

**Kokichi O: Oh yeah, what about when there was that floor meeting? We were out in the hallway and you got a boner when I started touching you all over.**

"Geh...!" Shuichi squeaked out.

_Why does he keep bringing up unwanted memories,_ he mentally screamed.

**Shuichi S: That...! It just happened!**

**Kokichi O: "It just happened?"**

**Kokichi O: Now, I'm not sure I believe that, Saihara-chan! I don't think you know this, but I don't like liars. Like, at all.**

Shuichi rolled his eyes at that as he typed out a reply.

**Shuichi S: That's kind of hard to believe, considering that you lie 24/7.**

**Kokichi O: But it's true!**

**Shuichi S: [xx_emoji_annoyed_xx]**

**Kokichi O: Don't you look at me like that! If you do, I'll begin to think you actually wanna sleep with me.**

**Shuichi S: Wait, what?**

**Kokichi O: I dunno about you, but that looks like the look you would give people when you try and assert your dominance.**

**Shuichi S: Huh?!**

**Kokichi O: You know, I can totes get behind that!**

**Kokichi O: Like, I love all types of guys, but I think my absolute fave are the types that are all timid and shy, but can really be dominant when they really need to be. You practically embody that and to be honest? I find that really fucking hot.**

**Shuichi S: ...I didn't need to know that, but okay.**

Shuichi watched as the purple bubble appeared, disappeared, and then reappeared in the bottom left corner of the screen.

A few minutes passed before Ouma's reply came in.

**Kokichi O: Okay, I am seriously flying off on a tangent here! Back to our main topic!**

**Kokichi O: Sleep with me, Saihara-chan!**

**Shuichi S: NO!**

**Shuichi S: I told you that I won't!**

**Kokichi O: Ugh! So, tell me, Saihara-chan, what WOULD make you want to sleep with me?**

**Shuichi S: You're seriously asking me this?!**

**Kokichi O: Just answer the question! I really wanna know!**

**Shuichi S: Okay, fine!**

Shuichi set his phone down on the desk and he began drumming his fingers against the desk surface.

_I can't believe I'm actually thinking about this,_ he thought to himself.

He bit his lip.

_Well, for starters, I need to know the person really well before engaging in such activities. As for other factors that could play into it...I wonder what it is I could tell him so that he could potentially get off my case,_ he wondered to himself.

After pondering over it for a few minutes, he came up with a good enough answer and picked up his phone. He typed out a couple of texts and sent them to Ouma.

**Shuichi S: Well, I would like to get to know you better. I want to know the real you.**

**Shuichi S: I would rather do it with someone I know and am comfortable around rather than a total stranger.**

**Shuichi S: Most importantly, I want to do it with someone who I trust wholeheartedly.**

He waited for Ouma to respond to him. However, Ouma stayed silent on the other end. This made Shuichi's brow arch up in confusion.

_Did he give up,_ he asked himself.

**Shuichi S: ...Ouma-kun?**

A couple more minutes passed before Ouma texted him back.

**Kokichi O: BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOORING!!!**

**Shuichi S: Eh?!**

**Kokichi O: Boring, boring, boring, booooooooooooring!**

**Kokichi O: All I want to do is fuck around, not get all chummy with you!**

**Shuichi S: Well, too bad.**

**Kokichi O: Geez...**

**Kokichi O: But then again, you're not exactly boring, either.**

**Shuichi S: Huh? I'm boring, but at the same time, I'm not? That makes no sense whatsoever.**

**Kokichi O: Well, you see, I've become reeeeeeeally interested in you.**

Shuichi swore his heart skipped a beat as he read Ouma's text.

"What the...?" he breathed out.

_Wait, he's actually interested in me? Like, he also wants to get to know me too,_ he asked himself.

He quickly shook his head, immediately getting rid of that thought.

_No, there's no way. He has made it quite clear that he's sexually interested, not romantically interested. Don't get your hopes up, Shuichi,_ he told himself.

Upon realizing what he just thought about, he smacked himself.

_What the hell, Shuichi?! Why would you be getting your hopes up, anyway?! It's not like you're in love with Ouma-kun or anything,_ he told himself.

He watched as a lengthy text from Ouma came in.

**Kokichi O: I'm gonna be quite frank here, I've never come across a guy like you. With all the guys I've slept with, they either fall instantly or they give in after a little bit of convincing and seducing. But you, Saihara-chan...no matter how much I tempt you, you still refuse to sleep with me! Like, right as it seems like you'll fall into my trap, you immediately stop and stand your ground! It's absolutely mindblowing!**

Shuichi chuckled nervously.

"I highly doubt that I'm the only one who's done that to him..." he trailed off.

**Shuichi S: I'm pretty sure there have been some others guys that you've encountered who have been as resistant as I have.**

**Kokichi O: Now that is where you're wrong, Saihara-chan.**

**Kokichi O: You're the first. And honestly? I get excited thinking about what may happen the next time I try to seduce you. Will you give in? Or will you resist even harder? Oh god, I'm feeling a thrill rush through me just thinking about it!**

**Shuichi S: I can answer that for you, if you'd like.**

**Kokichi O: Oh? Amuse me, then.**

**Shuichi S: I'll continue to resist you, Ouma-kun.**

**Shuichi S: I'll resist and resist and resist until you have no choice but to stop pursuing me.**

**Kokichi O: Ooooh, so you wanna play hard to get, huh...**

**Kokichi O: Fine then.**

**Kokichi O: I'll retaliate and tempt you even more. I'll push you to your limit and then indulge in the pleasure as you snap and devour me whole.**

**Kokichi O: And when that happens...oh boy, it'll be so damn satisfying.**

"Oh, so he thinks I'll fall so easily? That is where he's wrong." he murmured aloud as he typed out a reply.

**Shuichi S: Then, I'll make sure that you don't get that satisfaction.**

**Kokichi O: Okay~! Can't wait to see you try.**

**Shuichi S: Oh, I'll try, alright.**

**Kokichi O: Good, good!**

**Kokichi O: I'll be looking forward to it, Saihara-chan~**

Shuichi began to seethe at how arrogant Ouma was making himself out to be.

"For god's sake...!" he exclaimed as he chucked his phone, watching it hit the pillow.

He sighed, slamming his head down onto the desk and running his fingers through his hair.

_Goddammit, he's driving me crazy! Acting all smug and confident like that...is he so sure that he'll win or something,_ he asked himself.

A chuckle rumbled through his body.

"Oh, don't you worry, Ouma-kun. I'll make sure I don't give into you. I won't let you have your way." he said.

He tipped his head back to look up at the ceiling, running his fingers through his hair once more.

_Alright, then._

_Let the game begin, Ouma-kun._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Additional Info:  
> -Maki's outfit: This is the outfit that Shuichi bought for her back in Chapter 3 (shredded back dark red and black tye dye shirt, black tank top, galaxy pattern shorts)  
> \-------------------  
> Places you can find me:  
> -Tumblr: kawaiikichi.tumblr.com  
> -Twitter (main): @todorokii_uwu  
> -Twitter (writing account): @kawaiikichii  
> \-------------------  
> *Also, I hope you all have a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! See you in 2019! :D*


	8. Sweet Tooth

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Today is Shuichi's birthday!  
> Everyone throws a party for him.  
> Ouma gifts him something quite...unique.  
> Two words: Cafe date.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, everyone! I'm back with the next chapter of Game of Cat and Mouse. Sorry for the wait, this chapter took me a while to write and then I got caught up in other things TT_TT 
> 
> So, this chapter is relatively eventful, especially since it's a certain detective's birthday now in the fic. Since there's a little bit of fluff coming close to the end of the chapter, I figured that posting this chapter on Valentine's Day would be a good idea.
> 
> With that, here's chapter eight! I hope you like it and let me know what you think!

Shuichi woke up that morning to the sound of his phone dinging continuously. He groaned, blinking his eyes tiredly as he tried grabbing his phone off of the dresser.

"Who's texting me...?" he mumbled out.

He rubbed the sleep out of his eyes as he brought the phone up to his face, reading the various text messages that showed up.

**Uncle: Wishing you a happy birthday, Shuichi! Have a great day :)**

**Kaito M: HAPPY BIRTHDAY BRO!!! [xx_emoji_party_popper_xx] [xx_emoji_party_popper_xx] [xx_emoji_party_popper_xx]**

**Kaede A: Happy Birthday, Saihara-kun!**

**Maki H: Happy birthday.**

Shuichi peered at the texts in confusion.

"Happy birthday...?" he questioned.

He looked at the date on his phone and his eyes grew wide.

"Oh my god!" he shot up from bed. "It really is my birthday!" he exclaimed.

He breathed out a loud sigh.

_How in the world could I forget that today is my birthday,_ he asked himself.

He went into his messages and after sending a quick reply to his uncle, he went and sent a reply to Kaede, Kaito, and Maki in the group chat.

**Shuichi S: Thanks! To be honest, I actually forgot that today was my birthday...**

Almost instantly, responses from the other three came in.

**Maki H: Good job [xx_emoji_annoyed_xx]**

**Kaede A: You actually forgot?!**

**Kaito M: [xx_emoji_fearful_screaming_xx] [xx_emoji_fearful_screaming_xx] [xx_emoji_fearful_screaming_xx]**

**Kaito M: Bro.**

**Kaito M: How could you forget your own birthday?**

**Shuichi S: I'm sorry...I guess it just slipped past my mind?**

**Kaito M: Goodness, bro...**

**Maki H: Anyway, we've all planned to take you out for dinner. Kaito knows a place that makes good Thai food.**

**Shuichi S: Oh, that sounds nice!**

**Maki H: We'll give you more info about tonight during the seminar; I've got to head to class.**

**Kaito M: Same here.**

**Kaede A: Me, as well! See you at the seminar later, Shuichi!**

**Shuichi S: Yeah, see you guys then!**

He rested his phone on the nightstand and swung his legs over the side of the bed.

"My birthday, huh..." he trailed off.

He frowned, realizing something.

"They never did send a birthday message, did they..." a low chuckle escaped his lips. "Well, it's not like they would, anyway. They haven't sent me one, let alone a simple text message, since they abandoned me and went to America to pursue their dreams." he muttered under his breath.

He stood up and stretched.

"There's no use dwelling on that. Besides, I shouldn't be down on my birthday." he told himself.

After brushing his teeth and styling his hair, he threw on a grey long sleeve, a jeans jacket, and a pair of black skinny jeans. He pocketed his phone, grabbed his backpack, and slipped on a pair of black Vans before stepping out into the hall.

He closed the door behind him and stopped, his eyes locking on Ouma's door for a split second before shaking his head.

_Why am I even staring at his door like that? It's not like he'll come out if I continue to stare at it,_ he told himself.

He breathed out a sigh before turning and heading off to his first class.

* * *

After buying a smoothie at the smoothie shop he began frequenting, he began to make his way to the seminar class. 

_I wonder what we're going to do this time. We had a study period last week, so I hope it's something fun,_ he thought to himself.

He took a sip from his smoothie as he arrived at the mansion-like building.

"This building never fails to surprise me..." he muttered as he stepped inside.

He walked upstairs and headed down the hall towards the classroom. He grabbed for the doorknob and turned it, mentally preparing for what he was going to be greeted with this time.

Streamers were popped in his face. A surprised yelp escaped his lips as he staggered backwards.

"Wh-What the—"

"Happy birthday!"

Shuichi blinked his eyes twice, seeing the rest of his classmates holding streamer poppers and wearing birthday hats. He got a better look at the inside of the classroom, which was covered with birthday decorations and the tables had refreshments, food, and cake on them.

"You guys...you did all of this for me?" he asked.

"We sure did, bro!" Kaito hollered in response.

"But...how did you...?" Shuichi was at a loss for words as he tried to formulate his question.

"We all got a text from Kirigiri-senpai last Thursday about holding a birthday party for you. So, we started planning and preparing for today." Tsumugi explained.

"You guys..." he trailed off.

"Nyahaha!" Angie ran up to him with a birthday hat in her hand. "Atua is gifting you this birthday hat, Saihara-kun!" she chirped, placing the hat atop his head.

Shuichi chuckled.

"Thanks, Yonaga-san." he said as she turned and dashed off towards Korekiyo, who was busy filling a plastic cup with some fruit punch.

Kaede beamed at him.

"Don't just stand there, Shuichi! Come on, let's get the party started!" she said.

"Ah!" Shuichi let out a startled gasp as she took his hand and pulled him into the classroom.

Everyone followed suit towards a table at the back of the classroom, which had a birthday cake on it.

"First things first, the birthday cake!" Kaede chirped.

She looked at Kirumi.

"Toujou-san, would you help me light the candles, please?" she asked.

"Of course." Kirumi replied, tucking some strands of hair behind her ear as she began to help Kaede with lighting the candles.

Shuichi watched as Kaede lit a match and lit one of the candles, observing the cake.

"This is..." Shuichi trailed off.

"You guessed it, bro! It's that vanilla spice cake you like so much! We got it from that bakery we used to go to after school." Kaito said, swinging his arm over Shuichi's shoulder.

"I had a feeling...the design and everything looked familiar." Shuichi commented.

"Well, it's your birthday, so we gotta pull all the stops on this!" Kaito declared.

"Heh, Momota-chan planned this out? How lame."

Kaito glowered at Ouma, who was twirling some hair around his finger.

"Shut up, Ouma! It's not like you helped with anything!" he barked out.

"Heeeeeeeh...but, I at least put up the decorations!" Ouma whined.

"More like you strung a whole bunch of fucking dildos up by some string and used that as birthday decorations!" Kaito barked out.

"Whaaaaaaaaaat?! I was just trying to be creative! Not like you'd know what that is anyway, Mister Unoriginal." Ouma teased.

"Why you little...!" Kaito growled out as he removed his arm from Shuichi's shoulders and he launched himself at Ouma.

Shuichi turned, watching as Kaito began shaking and hurling curses at a maniacally laughing Ouma. Maki joined in soon after, asking Kaito to let her help him while Kyouko tried to break up the fight.

It was broken up soon after, Ouma giggling as they locked eyes. They stared at each other for a few moments before Ouma winked at him.

Shuichi's heart skipped a beat as he turned away.

_Aaaaaagh, just why do I keep reacting like this,_ he asked himself.

He reached up and smacked his cheeks.

_Come on, Shuichi. There's no need for you to be worrying about him. Besides, it's your birthday today. You need to have fun,_ he told himself.

He silently decided to forget about Ouma's attempt at flirting with him once more as he redirected his attention to the party and his other classmates.

* * *

The party went as smoothly as Shuichi expected it would. After everyone sang for him and he blew out candles on the cake, they dug into it and conversed with one another while playing games and gifting Shuichi presents.

They finished playing a round of musical chairs with Shuichi being the winner as class came to an end.

Shuichi grabbed for his backpack and he followed Maki, Kaito, and Kaede out of the classroom.

"So, what are the plans for this evening?" Shuichi asked.

"Well, I was thinking that we could meet up in front of your place at around six and then we can walk there. The restaurant is about a six minute walk from campus." Kaito explained.

"Alright. That sounds fine with me." Shuichi said.

They stopped at the main plaza.

"Well, I'm going this way. I have to turn in my application for the music club." Kaede said, pointing in the direction of the performing arts building.

"I'm going back to Canary Hall to work on homework." Kaito said.

"And I'm going to do the same." Maki said.

"Alright. Well, I'm gonna head back to Phoenix Hall and do some of my homework, also. Just message me as it's getting closer to six." Shuichi explained.

"Of course, bro!" Kaito waved. "See you then!" he said.

He then grabbed for Maki's wrist.

"Come on, Maki Roll! Let's head back!" he declared.

"Do you want to fucking die? Let go of my wrist. I can walk on my own." she barked out, yanking her wrist out of his hand and marched off with her arms crossed over her chest.

"Ah! Wait up!" Kaito hollered as he began to follow her.

Kaede giggled as she watched Kaito and Maki converse with one another, Maki kicking Kaito in the knee after he said something that offended her. She then looked at Shuichi.

"Well, I'll see you this evening!" she chirped.

"Yeah, see you!" Shuichi replied as Kaede turned and dashed off to the performing arts building.

Shuichi sighed deeply, reaching into his jeans pocket and taking out his phone.

_I should go back for now,_ he thought to himself.

He began to walk back to Phoenix Hall when he heard a familiar voice call out to him.

"Saihara-chaaaaaaaaaan!"

He stopped and turned, watching as the person who called out to him ran over to him.

"Ouma-kun?" he questioned as Ouma stopped before him.

"Maaaaaaan, you sure walk fast! I thought I wasn't going to be able to catch up to you!" Ouma placed his hands on his thighs, attempting to catch his breath as he rose his head to look at Shuichi. "But then again, this is fine. I wanted to talk to you when those idiots weren't around you, anyway." he said.

"What do you mean idiots—" he then realized what Ouma meant. "Do you have something against my friends or something?" he asked.

"They grate on my nerves, ya know? Don't you have people like that in your life, Saihara-chan?" he asked.

_I am really tempted to say that you're one of them,_ Shuichi thought to himself.

"Well—" Before he could say anything else, Ouma cut him off.

"Anyway! Let me get to why I ran after you." he said.

He shrugged his backpack off his shoulder and he unzipped it, digging through it for something. A couple of minutes later, he pulled out a small, navy blue book that had stars on it.

"Here." he said, handing the book to him.

"A book?" Shuichi took the book from him. "But...why...?" he asked.

"It's your birthday gift, silly Saihara-chan! I was going to give it to you while we were in class, but then I forgot all about it." Ouma explained.

Shuichi narrowed his eyes at him.

"Did you really forget or are you lying?" he asked.

"Hm, who knows~" Ouma hummed out in response.

Shuichi furrowed his brows at Ouma's response.

"Ouma-kun..." he began with a stern edge to his voice.

Ouma giggled, a smirk pulling at his lips.

"You know me, Saihara-chan. I live to fuck with your mind. And I also live to get fucked up by you, if you know what I mean." he said with a wink.

A blush threatened to make its way to Shuichi's cheeks.

"I'm not going to bother commenting on that." he directed his attention to the book Ouma gave him. "So? What kind of book is this?" he asked.

"Open it and you'll see." Ouma replied.

Shuichi released a sigh as he opened the book. The first thing that caught his eye were the cards that had pastel-colored designs on them tucked into the sleeves of the book's pages.

"This...it's something like an album..." he trailed off.

"Weeeeeeeeeell, you're half right! Read what some of the cards say." Ouma said.

"Read what some of the cards say?" Shuichi parroted as he looked at one of the cards in the sleeves.

**_Fancy dinner date with Ouma~!_ **

"Wait, what?!" he exclaimed, gawking at the words on the card in shock.

He then proceeded to flip through the book, cheeks gradually taking on a deep shade of red as the tasks on each card became more and more sexual.

"Nishishi~! I hope you'll find those useful, especially the ones closer to the back~" Ouma drawled, seduction laced in his voice.

Shuichi snapped the book shut, the blush slowly spreading to his ears.

"Out of all the things you could've gotten me for my birthday, why a coupon book?!" he asked.

"Oh come on, I thought you knew by now!" Ouma exclaimed.

He leaned in closer to Shuichi, causing him to swallow.

"It's all so that I can get in your pants." he said.

Shuichi's heart pounded in his ears like a bass drum, watching as Ouma dragged the tip of his tongue along his bottom lip.

"I'm pretty sure I told you already that I am not interested in sleeping with you." he stated.

"Don't worry, that'll change soon enough." Ouma said.

"I said—"

"Anyway!" Ouma pulled away from Shuichi. "I should explain to you how those coupons work." he said.

"But—"

"So, how it works is that you pick one to redeem and you give it to me. Then, I'll perform that action. So, for example, if you present me with a coupon that says I should give you a blowjob, then I'll drop down and give you one. Simple, right?" Ouma explained.

"I—" Shuichi sighed loudly, knowing that nothing he said would get Ouma to listen to him. "Okay, fine. I understand how it works." he said.

"Coolsies! Oh, and just so you know, you can use them at any time. Hell, you could knock on my door while I'm having sex with someone, say that you want me to do something for you, and I'll come running!" Ouma chirped.

Shuichi pretended that he didn't hear the last part as he reopened the book and flipped through it.

"So...I can use these anytime I want to, right?" Shuichi asked.

"Yes, indeed! I _did_ just mention you could, after all." Ouma chirped in response.

"Then..." Shuichi stopped flipping through the book once he found what he was looking for. "Can I use one right now?" he asked.

"Of course you can! It's your coupon book, after all." Ouma brought his arms behind his head. "So? Which one will it be?" he asked.

Shuichi pulled the card coupon out of its sleeve and he showed it to Ouma.

"This one."

* * *

Shuichi could tell by the look on Ouma's face that this was something he wasn't expecting. 

"You know, Saihara-chan, you're actually really boring." Ouma commented.

"How so?" Shuichi asked.

Ouma huffed out a sigh, propping his elbow up on the table and pressing his cheek against the palm of his hand.

"I was waiting for you to request an intense makeout session, a blowjob, or even some rough sex. Out of all those lovely options," he motioned around at the cafe that they were in, "you choose to go to a cafe with me?" he asked.

"Yeah? Is there something wrong with that?" Shuichi asked.

"Many things, actually! I wanted you to fuck me!" Ouma whined.

"And I keep telling you that's not happening anytime soon!" Shuichi shot back.

"Aaaagh, this is ridiculous!" Ouma exclaimed as he leaned back, resting his head on the back of the booth.

He frowned, his brows furrowed as he crossed his arms over his chest.

"Saihara-chan," he extended his leg out and pressed his foot in between Shuichi's legs, reveling in the startled yelp that escaped his lips, "you really are beginning to irritate me." he stated.

Shuichi glowered at him.

"I don't see why I have to bend to your every will. And also, today is my birthday. I can do what I want." Shuichi stated, hissing when he felt Ouma press down harder.

Ouma kept his gaze on him, purple boring into gold. After a couple of minutes, Ouma released a loud sigh.

"Fine, you win." he said, removing his foot and letting it drop to the floor.

Just then, a waitress came over to them with a small tray.

"A black coffee with a turkey and swiss panini." she set the items down before Shuichi. "And a caramel macchiato with four cinnamon roll pancakes." she said, setting the other two items before Ouma.

"Ah, thank you." Shuichi said.

The waitress bowed before walking off. Shuichi looked over at Ouma's plate piled high with pancakes, soaked in maple syrup and covered in cream cheese frosting. The sweet smell of cinnamon and sugar reached his nose as Ouma reached for his cup and placed it before him.

As Shuichi took a bite out of his panini, he watched as Ouma poured some creamer into the cup and picked out at least five packets of sugar from the small container at the table. He stopped chewing, eyes wide in surprise as Ouma tore open one of the packets.

_That is a whole lot of sugar! What the heck,_ he asked himself.

He watched Ouma dump four more packets of sugar into his coffee before taking a sip from it. He expected him to twist his face up in disgust over how sweet it was, but surprisingly enough, he sipped from it like he didn't just put five packets of sugar in it.

_Well, if that's what he likes, then that's fine. I mean, it's not like I have a right to criticize his tastes,_ he thought to himself.

He took a sip from his coffee as he watched Ouma cut into his pancakes and shove the forkful into his mouth. Ouma let out a delighted hum, lips curling into a small smile as he chewed.

At that moment, Shuichi felt something stir from within him. He didn't know why, but he couldn't help but find the scene before him really cute.

_He looks...really content,_ he thought to himself.

"Mmmm...you know, I sometimes come here with Rantaro whenever we're in the mood to have breakfast at anytime in the day and I always get these pancakes. Every time I have them, it never disappoints." Ouma put another forkful into his mouth. "They're so good..." he murmured in between bites.

Shuichi nodded in response, setting his coffee cup down.

"You must have a really big sweet tooth, huh?" he asked.

"Hm? Well, I guess you can say so. I've always liked sweet things since I was a child." Ouma replied.

"I see..." Shuichi trailed off.

Before Shuichi could stop it, a grin broke across his lips. Ouma swallowed his food and he reached for his cup as he eyed Shuichi curiously.

"What in the world are you grinning for?" he asked.

"Oh, it's nothing. It's just...I actually know something about you now." Shuichi replied.

Ouma brought the cup to his lips, but he didn't take a sip just yet. He was busy eyeing Shuichi as he took in what he just said. Then, he scoffed against the rim of the cup, rolling his eyes.

"Yup, you really are weird." he commented as he took a sip.

Shuichi chuckled.

"Maybe I am." he replied as they continued eating in relative silence.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Valentine's Day! :D  
> \----------------------------  
> Places you can find me:  
> -Tumblr: kawaiikichi.tumblr.com  
> -Twitter (main): @todorokii_uwu (I wound up changing it XD)  
> -Twitter (writing account): @kawaiikichii


	9. Photographs

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shuichi watches a scene unfold in the hallway.  
> Ouma takes Shuichi for a scooter ride.  
> Shuichi and Ouma go on a grocery shopping "date".  
> Rantaro's just about fed up with Ouma's bullshit.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, you guys! I'm back from the dead with the next chapter of Game of Cat and Mouse! So, I had taken a month long break from taking requests on Tumblr last month because I wanted to dedicate that time to my fics and such. Ideally, I wanted to have this chapter up sometime in March, but as you can see, that didn't happen. Oumasai Week 2019 came from out of nowhere and I basically focused all of my attention on that (and was also stressed half the time because the prompts were released right as the event started and that really threw me off). By the time Oumasai Week 2019 wrapped up, half of the month had already gone by. So, here I am now with the chapter XD
> 
> With that, here is chapter nine! I hope you like it and let me know what you think! :D

A cool breeze whipped at Shuichi's cheeks as he left the restaurant with his friends later that evening. He walked with Kaede while Maki and Kaito trailed behind them, talking about various things (mostly Maki ranting about one of her professors and how she would love to beat the living daylights out of them).

Kaede brought her arms behind her back as she looked at Shuichi.

"Hey, are you sure that everything's okay?" she asked.

"Hm? What do you mean?" he answered.

"Well...it's just that you kept zoning out during dinner..." she trailed off.

"Oh...that." he said as he recalled what happened earlier in the restaurant.

* * *

_Shuichi flipped through the menu, looking for a dish that appealed to him as he listened to his friends converse. Twirling some hair around his finger, he released a sigh._

_No matter what he did to try and distract himself, he couldn't help but think back to when he was at the cafe earlier today with Ouma. The image of Ouma sitting across him, bathed in the afternoon sunlight streaming in through the cafe window, humming in delight as he ate his pancakes with a wide smile on his face refused to leave his mind._

_Aaaaagh, when he's not trying to get me to have sex with him, Ouma can actually be pretty cute, he thought to himself._

_Upon realizing what he was thinking about, he wanted to slap himself._

_Why do I keep having such weird thoughts?! Stop thinking like that, he mentally scolded._

_However, they kept returning and circling around in his mind. He brought his bottom lip in between his teeth, twirling his hair around his finger a little aggressively as a voice pulled him out of his thoughts._

_"Yo, bro!"_

_"Huh?" he answered, pulling his eyes away from the menu._

_He then registered the feeling of something nudging his side. He looked over, locking eyes with Kaede._

_"It's your turn to order, Shuichi." she said._

_"Ah! It is?" he quickly scanned through the menu. "I'll have the chicken pad thai, then." he said._

_The waiter took down his order and left after telling them that their order of spring rolls will be out soon._

_"Maaaaan, bro! You were totally zoned out for a good few minutes there!" Kaito exclaimed._

_"I was thinking of kicking you in your shin." Maki stated._

_"I'm really glad you didn't do that..." Shuichi trailed off._

* * *

Shuichi chuckled nervously. 

"Yeah, everything's okay." he replied.

Kaede furrowed her brows at his response.

"Are you sure?" she asked.

"Yes, I am." he replied.

"Are you really sure?"

"Yes, I really am sure."

"Alright."

Shuichi released a sigh as he looked up at the cloudless sky.

_There is no way in hell that I'm going to tell her that I was thinking of how cute Ouma-kun looked when we went out for coffee earlier today,_ he thought to himself.

He quickly shook his head.

_Nope, not going to happen. Not in a million years,_ he told himself.

They arrived back at campus a few minutes later.

"Well, this is where we part ways." Kaito said, glancing over at Phoenix Hall.

"Ah...yeah." Shuichi said.

"Well, we'll see you tomorrow, Shuichi." Maki said as she began to walk off.

"Night, Shuichi!" Kaede chirped, waving at him before turning to run after Maki.

"See ya, bro! Again, happy birthday!" Kaito hollered.

"Thanks! Good night to you guys, as well!" Shuichi called out as he watched his friends head back to Canary Hall.

He sighed, stuffing his hands into his jeans pockets.

_I should hurry up and head back inside. I feel pretty tired,_ he thought to himself.

He turned and headed to the front entrance, pulling out his key card. He scanned it and headed inside, smiling at the CA sitting behind the desk as he headed over to the elevators.

The elevator came down a few moments later and he stepped in, pressing the number four. He hummed, rocking back and forth on his heels as the doors closed and the elevator began to go up.

_Today was relatively eventful. I mean, my birthday has always been eventful because of how Kaito and the others want to celebrate it, but it felt way more eventful than it usually is,_ he thought to himself.

He tapped a finger against his chin.

"Maybe it's because of Ouma-kun...?" he wondered out loud.

He then smacked his cheeks.

_Why in the world do I keep thinking of him?! It's not like he did anything special,_ he told himself.

Once again, he thought back to how relaxed Ouma was at the cafe earlier today. It was a side of him that Shuichi didn't think he would get the chance to see. Watching Ouma as he ate those pancakes and gushed about how good they tasted made Shuichi's heart flutter.

He smacked his cheeks once more as he stepped out of the elevator and into the hall.

Seriously, what the heck is wrong with me?! I need to stop thinking about him, he thought to himself.

He sighed as he approached his room. He dug through his pocket and took out his keys, proceeding to unlock the door.

"Maybe a good night's rest will clear my mind..." he murmured under his breath.

As he got ready to step in, he heard Ouma's door open. Curiosity got the better of him as he turned, watching as a guy wearing a men's high school uniform stepped out, his top and jacket unbuttoned halfway and ash blond hair disheveled.

"He's wearing a gakuran..." he trailed off.

_What the heck?! Ouma-kun's having sex with high school students now,_ he asked himself.

Upon getting a better look at the guys face as he walked off, he realized that he knew him from somewhere.

_Wait a minute...that's the TA for my forensics class,_ he thought to himself.

He then watched as Ouma poked his head out the door with a wide smile on his face.

"Thanks for an amazing night, Kiryuu-senpai!" he drawled out.

As Ouma began to wave, Shuichi took note of the clothes he had on. Ouma wore a sailor uniform with a short, navy blue pleated skirt, a red necktie around his neck, and black knee length stockings. The necktie was loosened and his hair was also disheveled. Hickies and bite marks covered his neck and thighs.

_Okay, now that's just weird. He's wearing a girl's high school uniform and Kiryuu-senpai has on a gakuran? Why in the world would they be dressed up like that,_ he asked himself.

It then hit him as he looked over Ouma's outfit again.

_Oh. I get it now. This is what my friend back in Oxford called role playing,_ he thought to himself.

Just then, Ouma looked away and their eyes met. Shuichi's breath caught in his throat as Ouma's gaze bore into his own. 

They maintained eye contact for a few more moments before a seductive smile made its way to Ouma's lips. Shuichi braced himself, waiting for Ouma to casually make his way over to him and attempt to seduce him once more. But, what he did next caught him off-guard.

Ouma waved before turning and heading back into his room, closing the door behind him.

Shuichi blinked, still trying to comprehend what just happened.

"He...didn't make a move on me." he muttered out loud.

_That's odd. I thought that for sure, he'd try and make a move on me. I wonder why he didn't,_ he wondered to himself.

He shook his head, sighing.

_I don't know why that's bothering me so much. If anything, I should be glad that he didn't try to get me to sleep with him again. That's all I ever wanted,_ he told himself.

He turned and headed into his room, as well. Even as he was showering and getting himself ready for bed, he still couldn't help but feel that something felt out of place.

* * *

Shuichi took a sip from his smoothie, listening to Chase Atlantic on his phone as he walked back to Phoenix Hall after classes the next day. 

_That forensics test looks like it'll be simple enough...as for that English quiz, though,_ he trailed off in his thoughts.

He remembered how hectic the class had become now that Miu had also transferred into it. Not only did he have to deal with Ouma blowing in his ear and playing with his hair using his pen, he now had to bear with Ouma and Miu's loud whispering, bickering, and colorful insults. It was surprising that the professor hadn't asked them to leave the classroom.

_I have a lot of studying to do when I get back,_ he thought to himself.

As he walked past the main plaza, he heard his phone ding. Exiting out of his music app, he went into his messages and saw that Ouma had texted him.

"Ouma-kun...?" he wondered out loud as he looked at the text that Ouma sent him.

**Ouma-kun: U free rn???**

"Why does he want to know that..." he muttered as he typed out a reply.

**Shuichi S: I am. Why are you asking?**

Ouma's reply was almost instant.

**Ouma-kun: Wanna go on a date?**

Shuichi nearly choked on his smoothie, gawking at Ouma's text in shock.

"What in the...?!" he exclaimed.

_Where did that come from all of a sudden,_ he asked himself.

**Shuichi S: That's really out of the blue! A date?!**

**Ouma-kun: Nishishi~! Weeeeeeeeeell, it's not exactly a date, per say.**

**Ouma-kun: Ooops, that's a lie. This is indeed a date. Or maybe I'm lying about the fact that this is a date?**

Shuichi released a drawn out sigh.

**Shuichi S: Then, what is it?**

**Ouma-kun: It's more like I need you to accompany me somewhere.**

**Ouma-kun: Or am I lying about that, too...?**

**Shuichi S: Ouma-kun, can you please be straight with me for a minute here?!**

**Ouma-kun: No way! Besides, how can I be straight with you when I'm gay AF?!**

**Shuichi S: I didn't mean it in terms of sexuality!**

**Ouma-kun: Maaaaaan, you sure are rude, Saihara-chan...**

**Ouma-kun: Well, I guess I could let you off the hook for now, since you're cute and all.**

Shuichi resisted the urge to roll his eyes.

_As always, he makes zero sense,_ he thought to himself.

**Ouma-kun: Anyway, I need you to accompany me somewhere. It won't take long.**

**Shuichi S: Can I trust you?**

**Ouma-kun: Mmmm, depends~**

**Shuichi S: Okay. Well, it turns out I'm actually not free, so...**

**Ouma-kun: Okay, okay, I'll stop messing with you!**

**Ouma-kun: ...For now, anyway.**

**Shuichi S: [xx_emoji_annoyed_xx]**

**Ouma-kun: So? You free or what?**

**Shuichi S: I told you already that I am.**

**Ouma-kun: Okie dokie! So, you'll accompany me, right?**

**Shuichi S: I mean, it looks like I have no other choice, now do I?**

**Ouma-kun: Nishishi~! Looks like it'll be a date, then!**

Shuichi wanted to protest and remind him that this was nowhere near a date, but he knew that Ouma would just ignore him. So, he chose not to say anything as another text from Ouma came in.

**Ouma-kun: So? Where you at now, Saihara-chan?**

**Shuichi S: I just passed by the main plaza...I'm in front of the Engineering Building, Wing E.**

**Ouma-kun: KK! I see you~**

**Shuichi S: You do?**

Shuichi looked up from his phone as he saw a scooter come zooming in his direction. He let out a surprised yelp, stepping to the side as the scooter came to a stop before him. He watched Ouma tuck a couple strands of hair behind his ear as he looked at him.

"Get on, loser. We're going shopping." he said.

"Shopping?" Shuichi questioned.

"Yes. Now, get on." 

"But...isn't that scooter meant for only one person to ride on? I don't know if it would be okay for two people to ride on it..."

Kokichi let out an annoyed 'tch' as he rolled his eyes.

"Oh, ditch the goody two-shoe act for today, why don't you?!" Ouma gestured to the space behind him. "Now, hurry up and get on! My time is still running, so the amount I have to pay is going up. Plus, I have an appointment to go to after this, so we need to hurry." he explained.

Shuichi looked at the scooter and then at Ouma before sighing.

"Okay, fine." he said as he made his way over to the scooter and got on behind him.

Ouma smiled as he reached for the handlebars.

"Now, you better hold on tight." he said.

"Hold on tight? What do you—Ah!" Shuichi let out a startled yelp as Ouma restarted the scooter and they took off through the campus.

He quickly wrapped his arms around Ouma as the smaller male giggled.

"I told you to hold on tight!" he shouted.

"Well, I didn't know that it could go that fast! I've never ridden on one of these, so this is new for me..." Shuichi admitted.

"You've never ridden on a motorized scooter before?" Ouma asked in surprise.

"No, I haven't." Shuichi replied.

Ouma shrugged.

"Well, I guess I shouldn't be surprised. I mean, we only got these on campus last semester and you were at Oxford for freshman year." he said.

"Well, yeah..." Shuichi murmured as Ouma took a left turn and they rode down the sidewalk.

The breeze rustled his hair as autumn leaves flew around them. As Shuichi watched everything pass by him in colorful blurs, he couldn't help but feel at ease on the scooter with Ouma.

The scent of Ouma's lavender vanilla shampoo was carried by the breeze and hit Shuichi's nostrils soon after. He wasn't one for overly sweet scents, but with how Ouma liked to cling to him and tempt him into having sex with him, he found himself growing used to it and eventually liking it. He was tempted to bury his nose in Ouma's locks, but stopped himself before he could.

He mentally smacked himself.

_You literal dumbass! What are you thinking?! Why would you want to do something as crazy as that,_ he scolded himself.

They found themselves downtown a couple of minutes later. Ouma turned right and they continued down the sidewalk until he pulled into a parking lot.

"Alrighty..." he slowed to a stop, parking near a bike rack. "We're here." he said.

"We are?" Shuichi questioned as he got off and looked at where they had stopped, which was in front of a mini mart.

"Kuma Mini Mart...?" he wondered out loud as Ouma cut the engine on the scooter.

"Yuuuuup!" Ouma pulled out his phone and began fiddling with it. "You at least know what Kuma Mart is, don't you?" he asked.

"Of course I know what Kuma Mart is. There's a lot of them down where I live." Shuichi was slightly offended by Ouma's assumption. "Just because I was in England for a year doesn't mean I'll instantly forget those kinds of things." he stated.

"Yeah, yeah." Ouma responded nonchalantly.

Shuichi's eyebrow twitched.

_Insolent as always, I see,_ he thought to himself.

Ouma pocketed his phone, grinning.

"Now that that's taken care of, let's start our date!" he grabbed for Shuichi's hand. "Time to go shopping!" he declared as he began to pull Shuichi in the direction of the entrance.

"Ah!" Shuichi felt his heart jump into his throat. "H-Hold on a minute, Ouma-kun!" he exclaimed.

"Nope! I'm not waiting! Like I said before, we need to hurry because I have an appointment to go to." Ouma said as they walked through the automatic doors and into the mini mart.

Shuichi swallowed as he watched Ouma grab a shopping basket and pull him in the direction of the snacks.

Ouma's hand was smaller than his own, Shuichi silently noted. The feeling of their fingers intertwined with one another and his warmth emanating from the palm of his hand onto Shuichi's was enough to get Shuichi's heart racing.

He silently hoped that Ouma wouldn't realize how warm and clammy his hand was.

He watched as they stopped in front of the candy section, bringing his bottom lip in between his teeth.

"Um...Ouma-kun..." he trailed off.

"Hm? What's up?" Ouma hummed in response as he let the handle of the shopping basket rest in the crook of his arm as he reached for a couple packs of gummy worms.

"Our hands...do you plan on letting go anytime soon?" he asked shyly.

"Our hands?" 

"Yeah..."

Ouma looked down at their intertwined fingers for a split second before shaking his head.

"Nope! Not at all!" he chirped.

"Huh?!" Shuichi gaped at him in shock. "Why not?!" he exclaimed.

"Because it wouldn't be considered a date if we weren't holding hands, now would it?" Ouma replied.

"But we're—" Shuichi released a sigh, choosing to give up for now.

They continued, Ouma grabbing up various bags of chips and cookies and dropping them into the basket. Shuichi would occasionally help him grab items that were on the higher shelves and he eventually took the basket from him when he began complaining about how heavy it had gotten. Ouma then proceeded to wrap his arms around Shuichi's and gush about how everything felt so domestic and cute, which Shuichi resisted the urge to roll his eyes at.

He knew that Ouma didn't mean half of it, anyway.

After picking up a bottle of Panta for him, they headed to the register and paid for everything. Once that was done, they walked out of the mini mart.

"Ouma-kun, are you sure we'll be able to carry all this back? I mean, we only came here on a scooter..." Shuichi murmured, gesturing to the bags in his hands.

"Oh, don't worry about it! It'll be fine!" Ouma took out his phone and scanned the code on the scooter's handle bar, listening to it ding before tapping on the screen. "I've done this many times before, so I'm used to it." he explained.

"You have?" Shuichi questioned, quirking a brow in surprise.

"I have! And that's the truth!" Ouma chirped.

"I don't know if I can believe that or not..." he trailed off.

"Nishishi~! My, my, Saihara-chan's quite wary of me!"

"Whose fault do you think that is?"

"Who knows~"

Shuichi's eyebrow twitched as Ouma came up to him and took some of the bags from him.

"Now, come on! I have to be at my appointment in twenty minutes." he said, ushering for Shuichi to follow him.

"Alright, alright, I'm coming..." Shuichi said with a sigh as he followed Ouma over to the scooter.

Ouma slung some of the bags over the handle bars while Shuichi held onto the other ones. He got behind Ouma and tentatively brought his arms around his waist.

"You better hold on tight this time, Saihara-chan!" Ouma told him.

"Okay..." Shuichi trailed off, tightening his grip on Ouma's waist as Ouma started the scooter back up and sped off.

* * *

Ouma stopped at their destination moments later, parking the scooter near some steps. 

"Aaaaaaaaand we're here!" he declared.

Shuichi got off of the scooter as he stared at the building they came to a stop at, which was a three-story brick building surrounded by an extravagant flower garden and two water fountains on either side of the building.

_So fancy,_ he thought to himself.

He then noticed the gold plaque near the French doors.

"This place..." he looked over at Ouma. "Isn't this the hall that they built in honor of the late Jin Kirigiri?" he asked.

"Hm? Ah, yeah. This is the Kirigiri Hall." Ouma took the bags off of the handle bars. "This is also where various clubs such as the forensics club and the photography club meet up." he explained.

"Really..." he trailed off.

He began to follow Ouma up the stairs to the French doors that would take them inside.

"So, why exactly are we here?" he asked.

"For my appointment, why else?" Ouma replied.

"Yes, I understand that. But, why here? Also, why am I supposed to come with you? I don't have to be there with you, do I?" 

"Maaaaaaan, you ask too many questions! Just shut up and follow me already! We'll be late if I have to continue answering you."

Shuichi frowned, crossing his arms over his shoulders.

"Well, can you at least tell me who it is you have an appointment with?" he asked.

"The photography club." Ouma replied.

Shuichi arched a brow in confusion.

"The photography club?" he parroted as he followed Ouma up the stairs to the second floor.

"Yeah. I help out every once in a while whenever one of the members needs help with inspiration, Rantaro in particular." Ouma explained.

"Amami-kun's in the photography club?" Shuichi asked.

"He is. Photography is one of his hobbies, among other things." Ouma replied.

They walked down the hall, silence hanging over them. Shuichi glanced over the railing, watching down at the hall of fame that was on the first floor.

_Just as I thought, Ouma-kun and Amami-kun are very close,_ he thought to himself.

He felt something gnaw at him, but he immediately shooed that thought away as they stopped in front of a door at the corner.

"Well, here we are." Ouma swung open the door. "Guess who's here~!" he singsonged.

"Well, it's about damn time." Rantaro looked away from his camera. "I was going to call you if you didn't show up in the next three minutes or so." he said.

"Sorry, sorry! I wound up picking up a stray on the way here!" Ouma chirped.

_Did he seriously just call me a stray,_ Shuichi asked himself.

He felt his eyebrow twitch once again as Rantaro looked away from Ouma and over at him.

"So, I see you brought Saihara-kun." he commented.

"I did! I figured I'd have a little more fun shopping for snacks for the photography club if I had someone accompany me." Ouma explained as he headed over to one of the tables in the club room and dropped the bags down on it.

Shuichi followed suit, placing the bags he had in his hands on the table as Rantaro spoke.

"Well, I'm still waiting on one more member to come and I have to set up everything before we get started, so you and Saihara-kun can go chill next door until I'm ready." Rantaro explained.

"Okie dokie!" Ouma took out his bottle of Panta and grabbed Shuichi by the wrist. "Let's go, Saihara-chan!" he chirped before dashing over to the door.

"Ah! Hold on a minute, Ouma-kun!" Shuichi exclaimed as he was pulled out of the room and taken into the room to the left of the club room.

Upon stepping inside, he noticed that the room was set up almost like a storage room, save for the couch that was up against the wall on the left side of the room.

"A storage room?" Shuichi questioned.

"Yeah. I come here and relax from time to time because nobody really comes into this room unless it's someone from one of the art clubs or the photography club." Ouma explained.

"I see..." Shuichi trailed off.

Ouma went to sit down on the couch, crossing his legs. He reached up to tuck some hair behind his ear as he looked at Shuichi.

"You gonna come and sit or what?" he asked.

"Yeah, I'm going to sit..." Shuichi replied as he moved to sit down beside Ouma, making sure to put a reasonable distance between them.

Ouma cracked open the bottle of Panta and he began to drink from it. Shuichi eyed him, watching him gulp down the carbonated drink as he observed the bottle.

"How does that even taste?" he asked.

"Hm?" Ouma removed his mouth from the bottle, blinking up at Shuichi. "How does what taste?" he asked.

"That." Shuichi pointed at the grape Panta bottle in his hand. "You're always drinking it." he stated.

"My, has Saihara-chan been checking me out?" Ouma giggled. "How cute." he commented.

"That's not...! I just see you with it all the time, so..." he trailed off.

"Okay, okay, let's just say you weren't checking me out if it'll make you happy." Shuichi glowered at him as he continued. "Are you curious?" he asked.

"Well, yeah. I wouldn't be asking if I wasn't." Shuichi replied.

"Of course, of course. Then, if you're so curious," Ouma extended the bottle out to him, "try it." he said.

"Try it?" Shuichi asked.

"Well, duuuuuuuuuh! What, were you expecting me to explain to you what it tastes like?"

"Well...yeah?"

"Nishishi~! Well, too bad! I suck at describing things."

"But, you're minoring in creative writing, Ouma-kun..."

"I'm just gonna pretend I didn't hear you trying to be a smartass over there, Saihara-chan."

Shuichi stared at him in bewilderment.

_This little,_ he thought to himself.

"I—" Ouma proceeded to shush him.

"Hush your pretty mouth, Saihara-chan." he said, pressing his index finger against Shuichi's lips.

Shuichi's heart skip a beat at the feeling of Ouma's finger pressed to his lips. His finger lingered there for a few more moments before withdrawing it.

"But, in all honesty, trying it will be the best way for you to get an idea of what it tastes like." Ouma placed the bottle in Shuichi's hand. "So, try it." he said.

Shuichi looked at the bottle and then at Ouma before nodding. He brought the bottle to his lips, tipping it back and taking a gulp.

Almost instantly, his expression twisted into one of disgust. Ouma couldn't help but cackle as Shuichi removed his lips from the bottle.

"That's really gross. How can you drink something so sickeningly sweet like it's water?" he asked.

Ouma giggled.

"I like grape-flavored things. They taste good." he looked at the bottle that was still in Shuichi's hand. "Now, give that back to me!" he shouted.

"Ah...!" Shuichi exclaimed as Ouma took the bottle from him and he took a few gulps.

Shuichi watched as Ouma continued drinking, still slightly put off by the sugary sweet taste of the carbonated drink. His eyes fell on Ouma's lips, noticing something.

_Wait a minute. I don't think he wiped the mouth of the bottle after I drank from it,_ he thought to himself.

Realization soon hit him, his eyes growing wide and his cheeks flushing red.

_Oh my god...!_

"Ouma-kun...!" Shuichi exclaimed.

"Hm? What's up?" Ouma responded.

"You...You never wiped the mouth of the bottle before taking a drink..." Shuichi trailed off.

"No?" Ouma slowly lowered the Panta bottle. "Is there something wrong with that?" he asked.

"Well...it's just..." Shuichi began.

"It's just...?" Ouma said, encouraging Shuichi to continue.

"It's just that..." Shuichi tried again.

He pressed his lips into a thin line soon after. He feared that if he said anything else, he'd be reduced to a flustered mess.

"Hm? Saihara-chan, I won't be able to understand what it is you mean unless you tell me—Oh." Ouma stopped, realization hitting him.

A sly smirk danced along his lips.

"Could it be..." Ouma screwed the cap onto the bottle, set it down on the ground, and leaned in towards Shuichi. "You're getting like this because we just shared an indirect kiss?" he asked.

"Geh...!" Shuichi's face resembled that of a red rose in full bloom. "That...! That's not...!" he squeaked out.

"Nishishi~! Damn, you're so easy to read, Saihara-chan!" Ouma pulled away from Shuichi. "Thinking about sharing an indirect kiss with me...how lewd." he commented, his smirk refusing to disappear.

"Like I said, that's not...!"

"Oh? With that cute look on your face, I'd like to think otherwise."

Shuichi twiddled with his thumbs, the blush on his cheeks spreading to his ears.

"You..." Shuichi chanced a look at Ouma. "You're doing this on purpose, aren't you?" he asked.

"Hm..." Ouma tapped a finger against his chin. "Maybe I am, maybe I'm not, who knows~" he singsonged.

Shuichi furrowed his brows at this. He was tempted to demand Ouma to tell him the truth, but he decided against it. Ouma would try and find something to tease him about again, anyway.

He released a sigh as Ouma spoke.

"Ah, now I have an idea." he said.

"What kind of idea, exactly?" Shuichi asked, immediately dreading what Ouma was going to say next.

"So...have you ever had this experience where you try something for the first time, it tastes like shit, but when you try it in a different form, it actually tastes good?" he asked.

Shuichi's expression warped into one of confusion, eyebrows furrowed and lips pressed into a thin line.

"I'm not sure I quite follow..." he trailed off.

"Okay, let's use tomatoes as an example. So, I hate eating tomatoes raw. They taste like shit. But, when I have ketchup with my fries, it actually tastes okay." Ouma explained.

Shuichi continued to stare at Ouma blankly, still failing to comprehend what it was that Ouma meant.

_Is he speaking to me in riddles or something,_ he asked himself.

Ouma looked at him before releasing a sigh.

"Man, you're actually quite clueless. Fine, I'll show you what I mean." he said.

He turned towards Shuichi and pushed him down onto the couch. Shuichi let out a surprised yelp, his head hitting the arm of the couch as he blinked up at Ouma in shock.

"You said you don't like how grape Panta tastes, right? So, I started thinking," Ouma moved to straddle Shuichi's hips, placing his hands on either side of Shuichi's head, "maybe you'll like it more if you drank it from my mouth instead?" he asked.

Shuichi could hear his heart pounding in his ears as Ouma pulled away and reached down for the Panta bottle. He unscrewed the cap, poured some into his mouth, closed it, and leaned back in towards him. Shuichi's heartbeat quickened the closer Ouma got.

"W-Wait—"

"Oi, Kokichi!" the door swung open. "I'm done setting everything up, so let's—"

Ouma quickly swallowed the soda and they both looked over at the door, where a stupefied Rantaro stood.

"Oh my god, what the literal fuck?" Rantaro ran his fingers through his hair. "Haven't I told you not to pull shit like that?" he asked.

"Ugh, seriously?! Why do you have to ruin everything, Rantaro?!" Ouma complained.

"Don't give me that crap. If you want to screw around, do it somewhere that isn't next door to the club room." Rantaro walked over to them. "And also, you're making Saihara-kun uncomfortable!" he scolded.

He grabbed for the back of Ouma's shirt and he pulled Ouma off of Shuichi. He then shot Shuichi an apologetic look.

"I apologize for this idiot's behavior. He tends to think with his dick rather than his head." he apologized.

"Ah...Um...it's fine, really..." Shuichi trailed off.

"It's not fine. Kokichi needs to be disciplined again." Rantaro turned. "Well, I'll be taking him off your hands now." he said as he began to drag Ouma over to the door.

"Oi! Release me right this instant, you dimwitted avocado!" Ouma barked out.

"Denied." Rantaro deadpanned as he dragged Ouma out of the room.

Shuichi could only stare as the door closed behind them. A few minutes passed before he released a loud sigh.

"That was something else..." he trailed off.

He then thought back to what transpired between him and Ouma moments ago.

_As expected, he was trying to get me to do something with him again...it's a good thing Amami-kun came in. Who knows what would've happened if he didn't,_ he thought to himself.

The more he thought about the compromising position he had been in with Ouma, the more flustered he became.

_"Maybe you'll like it more if you drank it from my mouth instead?"_ Ouma's words played over and over in his head as the blush began to spread to his ears.

"Why do my thoughts keep drifting back to him?!" Shuichi exclaimed.

He reached up to smack his cheeks.

"Just because he's a little attractive doesn't mean that I have to be reacting like this..." he muttered under his breath.

He groaned.

"This is ridiculous...totally ridiculous!" he shouted.

He tried to will the blush away from his cheeks.

_Okay, I need to calm down. I can't go in there looking like this,_ he told himself.

The blush disappeared after a few more moments. He then stood and exited the room, closing the door behind him.

* * *

Upon reentering the club room, Shuichi came across an interesting sight. 

Ouma was seated on one of the tables in the club room. Rather than the black band shirt and black and white vertical-striped jeans that he had on before, he now donned a black hoodie crop top that had a checkered pattern strip on the sides of the sleeves, black tight-fitting leggings, and black Vans. His hair was pulled into a small ponytail.

He rolled his tongue around the lollipop he had in his mouth as Rantaro spoke.

"Okay, stay exactly like that." he instructed.

"Like this?" Ouma asked.

"Uh...actually, lift one leg up and rest your foot against the side of the table."

"Like that?"

"Yeah, like that. Lean your head against your knee. Yeah, that's good. Hold that pose for me." 

Rantaro pressed the shutter and took the picture. Ouma resumed licking the lollipop as he spotted Shuichi.

"Oh, look who finally decided to come!" a devious grin spread across his lips. "Didja have fun masturbating to the thought of us sharing an indirect kiss?" he asked teasingly.

"Huh?! I didn't do anything like that!" Shuichi exclaimed in shock.

"I mean, you were gone for an awfully long while. I wouldn't be surprised if it was because you were busy jacking off to me." Ouma explained.

"Like I said—"

"There's no need for you to deny it, Saihara-chan. Everyone knows that I am really good jerk off material. But you know, if you really needed the help," Ouma lowered his leg, "I could've gone down on my knees and sucked you off." he said, rolling his tongue around the lollipop in a seductive fashion.

Shuichi swore his face was red like a tomato at this point. His heart nearly burst out of his chest as Rantaro cleared his throat.

"Kokichi. Focus on the task at hand rather than trying to get into Saihara-kun's pants." he spoke sternly.

"Fiiiiiiiiiiine." Ouma said as he huffed out a sigh, some of his bangs flying up.

"Okay, now off the table. Time to move on to the next pose." Rantaro said.

"Okay~" Ouma hummed in response.

Shuichi could only stare as Rantaro gave Ouma instructions, which he gladly followed. His eyes then fell on Ouma's partially exposed lower back, where some tattooed lines peeked out from under the leggings he wore.

_He has a tattoo...I wonder what it is,_ he wondered to himself.

He swallowed, his heart beginning to flutter at the thought of Ouma's tattoo. He watched Ouma sit down in one of the chairs, leaning forward against the back of the chair as he spoke, hoping to distract himself.

"Say, Amami-kun." he began.

"Yeah?" Rantaro replied.

"So...I heard from Ouma-kun that photography is one of your hobbies?" he asked.

"Yeah. I guess you can say it helps me to destress and relax a little bit." Rantaro replied.

"I see..." Shuichi trailed off as Rantaro instructed for Ouma to prop an elbow up and press his cheek against the palm of his hand.

Rantaro resumed taking more photos as Shuichi spoke.

"Do you have any plans on entering your pictures in contests or...?" he trailed off.

"I've entered some in the past. But, I never won any awards for it. I'm not fond of entering contests, anyway. I just do it as a hobby." Rantaro explained.

"Huh. So, do you follow a specific theme when you're taking pictures?"

"Sometimes. Other times, I just do whatever."

"I see..."

Rantaro looked away from Ouma and he nodded in the direction of a folder sitting atop one of the tables nearby.

"Those are all of the pictures I've taken and developed. Most of them are of Kokichi, though, since I have him help me out as my model. I also like taking pictures of people, so it all works out." Rantaro smiled. "You can look through it while I continue taking pictures." he offered.

"Ah...thanks." Shuichi said as he heard over to the table and sat down.

He brought the folder before him and he opened it, gingerly picking up the developed photos and looking at them.

Like Rantaro had said, most of the pictures were of Ouma in various outfits, settings, and poses. Some were in color while others were in black and white.

As he continued to look through the photos, he noticed how photogenic Ouma was. He looked liked he was well suited for the camera.

He looked at a photo of Ouma wearing a sleeveless hoodie unzipped all the way along with a pair of swimming trunks, smiling widely at the camera. Staring at the picture caused his heart to start racing.

"Pretty..." he muttered under his breath.

Shuichi's eyes widened in surprise.

_Wait...did I really just think that he's pretty,_ he asked himself.

He released the photo and reached up to smack his cheeks.

_What in the world is wrong with you?! It's just a picture! It's not like you've become attracted to him or anything,_ he told himself.

He closed the folder, his cheeks growing warm.

_Okay, I need to distract myself. Let's think about something else,_ he told himself.

However, no matter how hard he tried to distract himself, his heart continued to race and just like that, his thoughts were completely filled with Ouma.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Additional Notes:  
> -Motorized scooters: There are a whole ton of these scooters on my campus; I see a lot of people riding on these to god knows where. I've never actually ridden on one (mainly because I'm terrified I'll either crash into someone or fall right off), but it certainly look like fun.  
> \-----------------------------------------  
> Places you can find me:  
> -Tumblr: kawaiikichi.tumblr.com  
> -Twitter (main): @todorokii_uwu  
> -Twitter (writing account): @kawaiikichii

**Author's Note:**

> I'm sure you figured it out by now, but "the male" is indeed Kokichi.  
> And I am currently screaming cuz this chapter is nearly 10k words long; holy shit.
> 
> *You can follow me on Tumblr for story previews, updates/notices, and other fanfic-related things here: http://kawaiikichi.tumblr.com/


End file.
